BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Buys 29,261 Shares of Walmart Inc. $WMT

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp grew its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 2.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,124,073 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 29,261 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for 0.6% of BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp’s holdings in Walmart were worth $98,682,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Haverford Trust Co grew its stake in Walmart by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 82,058 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,204,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Groupe la Francaise grew its stake in Walmart by 27.2% in the 1st quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 773,083 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $66,166,000 after acquiring an additional 165,210 shares in the last quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,714 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $853,000 after acquiring an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 70.3% in the 1st quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 7,467 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $656,000 after acquiring an additional 3,083 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cutler Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Walmart in the 1st quarter worth about $122,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Walmart from $111.00 to $109.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Mizuho reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $110.00 price objective (up from $108.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Walmart has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $110.07.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.96, for a total transaction of $403,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 1,052,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $106,255,856.80. This represents a 0.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.14, for a total transaction of $1,248,712.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 932,313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $88,700,258.82. This represents a 1.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 88,841 shares of company stock valued at $8,565,205 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Down 1.2%

NYSE:WMT opened at $96.8190 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.01 and a 52 week high of $105.30. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $97.99 and a 200 day moving average of $95.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $772.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.40, a PEG ratio of 4.75 and a beta of 0.66.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 21st. The retailer reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.06). Walmart had a net margin of 3.08% and a return on equity of 21.45%. The firm had revenue of $169.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $174.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.67 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Walmart has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.580-0.600 EPS. FY 2026 guidance at 2.520-2.620 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a yield of 90.0%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.34%.

About Walmart

Walmart Inc engages in the operation of retail, wholesale, other units, and eCommerce worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam's Club. It operates supercenters, supermarkets, hypermarkets, warehouse clubs, cash and carry stores, and discount stores under Walmart and Walmart Neighborhood Market brands; membership-only warehouse clubs; ecommerce websites, such as walmart.com.mx, walmart.ca, flipkart.com, PhonePe and other sites; and mobile commerce applications.