Profund Advisors LLC Cuts Stake in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Profund Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 10.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 36,460 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 4,164 shares during the period. Profund Advisors LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $4,062,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of WMT. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Walmart by 188.1% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,663,172 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,199,907,000 after buying an additional 7,614,172 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 439,957,146 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $49,015,626,000 after purchasing an additional 4,304,436 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 20.5% in the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 23,497,921 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $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 in the 3rd quarter valued at about $294,621,000. Finally, PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $280,736,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts have been raising price targets and reiterating bullish ratings on Walmart ahead of earnings, reflecting confidence in the company’s execution and near-term outlook. Walmart stock: Here’s why analysts are raising price targets before Q1 earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart is benefiting from its scale, digital expansion, and higher-margin businesses, which are helping it outperform rivals and absorb tariff-related cost pressure better than peers. Scale, online push and loyalty fees: how Walmart won the year of the tariffs
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart is expected to deliver solid Q1 results, with investors watching for continued omnichannel momentum, e-commerce growth, and gains in ads and membership revenue. Walmart Looks Strong Ahead of Q1 Earnings: Should Investors Stay Put?
• Positive Sentiment: Management’s push into AI and automation could support margins over time by improving fulfillment efficiency and lowering operating costs. Walmart’s AI and Automation Push: Long-Term Cost Advantage?
• Neutral Sentiment: One small insider sale by EVP Daniel Bartlett is a headline risk, but it was a pre-arranged 10b5-1 transaction and does not appear to signal a major change in outlook. SEC Form 4 filing
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader retail comparisons and market worries around consumer spending and geopolitics may create short-term volatility, but they also reinforce Walmart’s defensive appeal. NVDA, WMT Report This Week, but News on the Strait Is Key

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $134.20 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $126.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $119.68. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $93.43 and a 52 week high of $135.16. The stock has a market cap of $1.07 trillion, a PE ratio of 48.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.93 and a beta of 0.65.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The retailer reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $190.66 billion for 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%. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.66 earnings per share. 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 11th. Walmart’s payout ratio is 36.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $145.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 20th. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $120.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. HSBC lowered shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $122.00 to $131.00 in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $125.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $140.00 price objective (up from $130.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $138.88.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, EVP Latriece Watkins sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.46, for a total value of $1,214,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 108,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,153,389.24. The trade was a 8.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.79, for a total value of $2,555,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 486,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $62,203,571.56. This trade represents a 3.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 167,190 shares of company stock worth $20,975,838. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Company 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.