Cozad Asset Management Inc. Sells 5,544 Shares of Walmart Inc. $WMT

Cozad Asset Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 12.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 40,842 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 5,544 shares during the period. Cozad Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $4,209,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Walmart by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 435,652,710 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $44,898,368,000 after purchasing an additional 3,835,200 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.3% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 94,557,532 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $9,199,712,000 after buying an additional 263,718 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the second quarter worth approximately $5,367,770,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 3.6% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 31,973,329 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,126,775,000 after acquiring an additional 1,098,342 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 23.5% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 19,493,644 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,902,775,000 after acquiring an additional 3,710,506 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on WMT shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $120.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $127.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $125.00 target price (up from $108.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, CICC Research assumed coverage on Walmart in a research note on Friday, December 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $125.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.21.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.99, for a total value of $1,574,868.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 727,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $87,251,328.45. This represents a 1.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.27, for a total transaction of $2,445,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 506,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $61,962,034.28. This trade represents a 3.80% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 261,903 shares of company stock valued at $31,496,959. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Company fundamentals and capital returns — Walmart reported an earnings and revenue beat, raised the quarterly dividend, and authorized a new ~$30B share repurchase program, supporting EPS upside and shareholder return expectations. Assessing Walmart’s Valuation After Earnings Beat
• Positive Sentiment: U.S. segment momentum — Walmart U.S. delivered ~4.6% comp growth driven by grocery traffic and e‑commerce strength, a key driver cited for sustaining FY27 outlook. WMT’s U.S. Segment Momentum
• Positive Sentiment: Market share gain / resilient demand — dunnhumby data shows U.S. household penetration near ~72%, indicating Walmart is capturing share versus traditional grocers amid affordability pressures. Walmart, Dollar Stores Beat Traditional Grocers’ Reach
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support — several firms (Telsey, BTIG, Wells Fargo, Oppenheimer and others) have reiterated or raised ratings/targets, lifting consensus sentiment and price-target-driven demand. Telsey Advisory Sees Walmart Strengthening Position
• Neutral Sentiment: Peer/comparison analysis — pieces comparing Walmart to other retail plays (Dollar General, traditional grocers) highlight valuation and model differences; useful for allocation decisions but not a single catalyst. Walmart or Dollar General: Which Is the Better Retail Play?
• Neutral Sentiment: Street commentary — bank notes and analyst writeups (Erste Group, others) provide context on FY outlook and margins but largely echo existing consensus rather than shifting it. Erste Group Bank Comments on Walmart FY2028 Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling — multiple senior executives, including the CEO and EVPs, disclosed sizable share sales this week; such filings can create short‑term sentiment pressure even if sales are for diversification or tax reasons. Latriece Watkins Sells 10,000 Shares
• Negative Sentiment: Macro/headline risk — Walmart highlighted a “hiring recession” context and broader consumer fragility in commentary, which could temper discretionary spending and complicate margin leverage if labor and demand trends weaken. Walmart Warns of “Hiring Recession”

Walmart Stock Performance

NASDAQ WMT opened at $126.75 on Wednesday. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $79.81 and a twelve month high of $134.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock has a market cap of $1.01 trillion, a P/E ratio of 46.26, a PEG ratio of 5.02 and a beta of 0.65. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $119.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $109.69.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The retailer reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.01. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.44% and a net margin of 3.07%.The company had revenue of $190.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $188.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.66 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Walmart has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.750-2.850 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 0.610-0.610 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.2475 per share. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 11th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.31%.

About Walmart

Walmart is a multinational retail corporation that operates a broad portfolio of store formats and digital services. Its core business includes large-format supercenters, discount department stores, neighborhood grocery stores and a membership warehouse chain, Sam’s Club. The company’s merchandising mix covers groceries, household goods, apparel, electronics and pharmacy services, supplemented by private-label products and category-specific offerings. Walmart pairs its physical store network with online platforms and mobile applications to provide omnichannel shopping, fulfillment and delivery options for consumers and businesses.

The company was founded by Sam Walton, who opened the first store in Rogers, Arkansas in 1962; it is headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas.