Walmart Inc. $WMT Position Reduced by Verity Asset Management Inc.

Verity Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 49.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,176 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 35,254 shares during the period. Walmart comprises approximately 1.7% of Verity Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Verity Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $4,030,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WMT. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 188.1% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,663,172 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,199,907,000 after purchasing an additional 7,614,172 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Walmart by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 439,957,146 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $49,015,626,000 after purchasing an additional 4,304,436 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its position in Walmart by 20.5% in the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 23,497,921 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,413,236,000 after purchasing an additional 4,004,277 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $294,621,000. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 1,991.9% during the 2nd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 2,549,719 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $249,312,000 after buying an additional 2,427,834 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Opened a third owned-and-operated U.S. milk processing plant (Robinson, Texas) — a $350M, 300k+ sq ft facility creating 400+ jobs that strengthens Walmart’s end‑to‑end dairy supply chain, supports lower-cost fresh milk, and reduces reliance on third‑party processors. This is a tangible, margin‑supporting capex move in a core grocery category. Walmart Opens Third Owned and Operated Milk Processing Facility
• Positive Sentiment: Large shareholder buying — Alecta Pensionsforsakring increased its Walmart stake by ~406,400 shares, a signal of institutional confidence that can support the stock. Alecta Boosts Walmart Stake
• Positive Sentiment: Local assortment and store upgrades — Walmart is expanding local product assortments (e.g., regionally targeted grocery SKUs) and earmarking millions for Arizona store upgrades, both moves aimed at winning budget‑constrained shoppers and improving store experience. These tactics can help comps and traffic. Walmart Eyes Local Products
• Neutral Sentiment: Restructuring store leadership and a fashion push — Management is eliminating the “store lead” role while expanding higher‑paid managerial positions and accelerating fashion/private‑label efforts (SoHo pop‑up, higher‑end private labels). Could drive sales mix improvement and retention, but also raises near‑term payroll/operating costs. Walmart Reshapes Store Leadership
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst and media bullishness vs valuation — Several bullish write‑ups and comparison pieces (including Walmart vs. Costco) highlight share gains among higher‑income shoppers and e‑commerce growth, but note a rich forward P/E and mixed margin dynamics—important context for investors weighing further upside. Better Buy: Walmart or Costco Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Corporate social and partnership items — Grants from the Acres for America program and expanded supplier partnerships are positive for brand/CSR but are unlikely to move fundamentals materially in the near term. NFWF Announces Grants from Walmart’s Acres for America

Walmart Trading Up 3.1%

Shares of WMT stock opened at $131.93 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $125.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $117.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.05 trillion, a P/E ratio of 48.15, a PEG ratio of 4.77 and a beta of 0.66. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $91.89 and a fifty-two week high of $134.69.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $190.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $188.37 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.44% and a net margin of 3.07%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $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. Research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 11th will be issued a $0.2475 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 11th. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $134.00 target price (up from $129.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group increased their target price on Walmart from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $137.79.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.71, for a total value of $2,460,201.36. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,023,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $509,780,812.39. This trade represents a 0.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.96, for a total value of $1,600,725.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 687,287 shares in the company, valued at $83,821,522.52. The trade was a 1.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 263,376 shares of company stock worth $32,851,650 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Profile

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.