Congress Asset Management Co. Buys 107,460 Shares of Walmart Inc. $WMT

Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 705.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 122,689 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 107,460 shares during the quarter. Congress Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $13,669,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Collier Financial purchased a new position in Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Roble Belko & Company Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 212.6% in the third quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 322 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 34,082 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.00, for a total transaction of $4,158,004.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 533,466 shares in the company, valued at $65,082,852. This trade represents a 6.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Donna Morris sold 76,181 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.79, for a total value of $9,430,445.99. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 402,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,772,492.88. This trade represents a 15.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 274,278 shares of company stock valued at $33,605,809 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of WMT opened at $122.05 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $124.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $113.24. The company has a market capitalization of $973.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.54, a P/E/G ratio of 4.50 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.24. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $79.81 and a 1-year high of $134.69.

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

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Investors of record on Friday, December 11th will be given a $0.2475 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 11th. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Walmart’s payout ratio is 36.13%.

Key Stories Impacting Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart’s ad business surged ~37% in Q4, which boosts higher-margin revenue and could improve overall profitability going forward. Walmart’s Ad Business Jumps 37%: Margin Upside Ahead?
• Positive Sentiment: Recent quarterly results beat consensus (EPS and revenue) and management set FY2027 EPS guidance (2.75–2.85), supporting the view that Walmart’s core retail performance and membership/ads mix are improving.
• Positive Sentiment: New national product distribution deals (example: Zep cleaning products now carried nationwide at Walmart) show ongoing assortment and supplier momentum that can drive traffic and category share. Zep Expands Home Pro Distribution at Walmart
• Neutral Sentiment: Technical/market commentary is highlighting Walmart as a buy point amid broader market weakness — useful for momentum traders but less material to fundamentals. Dow Jones discount retailer Walmart offers latest buy point amid market weakness
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry logistics moves — FedEx launching same‑day options as retailers (including Walmart) race to speed up delivery — are an operational/competitive factor to watch but not an immediate earnings shock. FedEx launches same-day delivery with OneRail
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest reports in the feed show zero or data anomalies (0 shares / NaN increases) and a days-to-cover of 0.0 — not currently informative for sentiment.
• Negative Sentiment: A plaintiffs’ law firm is investigating Walmart’s board for possible breach of fiduciary duty related to alleged deceptive pay practices for Spark drivers — a governance/legal risk that could lead to litigation or reputational costs. Berger Montague PC Investigates Walmart Board for Breach of Fiduciary Duty
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: the CEO reported selling roughly $1.6M of WMT stock — a signal some investors watch closely even though sales can be routine. Walmart CEO Sells $1,600,725.00 in Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst commentary questioning Walmart’s “all-weather” defensive status suggests valuation and crowding risks for investors who expect steady downside protection; this is a cautionary view on medium-term upside. Walmart: All-Weather Status Ironically Creates Risk For Investors

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $134.00 price objective (up from $129.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Tigress Financial set a $150.00 price target on shares of Walmart and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $147.00 price target (up from $120.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $135.76.

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.