First Financial Bankshares Inc Sells 6,540 Shares of Walmart Inc. $WMT

First Financial Bankshares Inc lowered its stake in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 489,662 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 6,540 shares during the period. First Financial Bankshares Inc’s holdings in Walmart were worth $50,465,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Collier Financial purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Access Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Walmart in the second quarter worth $26,000. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP purchased a new position in Walmart during the third quarter worth $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Walmart during the third quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Roble Belko & Company Inc increased its position in Walmart by 212.6% during the third quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 322 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of NASDAQ WMT opened at $125.81 on Tuesday. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $79.81 and a 52-week high of $134.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.00 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.92, a PEG ratio of 4.97 and a beta of 0.65. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $119.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $109.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.79.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last issued its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $190.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $188.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.66 EPS. Walmart’s 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. Sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Investors of record on Friday, December 11th will be paid a $0.2475 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 is 34.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on WMT. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $147.00 price target (up from $135.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $110.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 21st. DA Davidson set a $150.00 target price on Walmart and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. HSBC downgraded Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $122.00 to $131.00 in a report on Friday. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on Walmart from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $132.53.

Key Stories Impacting Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Company-level catalyst — Walmart announced a new share-buyback alongside other large firms; buyback authorizations boost EPS potential and reduce share count over time. 3 Major Buybacks Just Dropped—Here’s the Signal Investors See
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support — Telsey raised its WMT target to $140 and kept an Outperform rating; BTIG reiterated a Buy and price-target lift headlines reinforce upside expectations. Telsey Advisory Sees Walmart Strengthening Position • BTIG Reiterates Buy
• Positive Sentiment: Fundamentals — Walmart’s U.S. segment delivered ~4.6% comp growth (grocery traffic + e‑commerce strength), supporting FY27 outlook and the recent earnings beat that investors cheered. WMT’s U.S. Segment Momentum
• Positive Sentiment: Market share/consumer trends — A dunnhumby tracker shows Walmart’s U.S. household penetration rising (reported at ~72%), evidence of resilient demand and pricing/affordability positioning versus traditional grocers. Walmart, Dollar Stores Beat Traditional Grocers’ Reach
• Neutral Sentiment: Street commentary — Additional analyst notes and bank commentary (Erste Group) provide perspective on FY outlook but don’t materially change consensus; they keep focus on execution and margin trends. Erste Group Bank Comments on Walmart FY2028 Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling — Multiple senior executives (CEO John Furner and two EVPs) disclosed sizable stock sales this week, which can create short‑term sentiment pressure even if sales are often for diversification or tax reasons. SEC filings: CEO Form 4, EVP Christopher Nicholas Form 4, EVP Latriece Watkins Form 4
• Negative Sentiment: Macro/headline risk — Walmart flagged labor-market nuances and mentioned a “hiring recession” context in broader commentary, which could signal consumer fragility ahead and temper cyclically sensitive spending. Walmart Warns of “Hiring Recession”

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.83, for a total transaction of $2,171,291.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 4,315,333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $482,583,689.39. This trade represents a 0.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 34,082 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.00, for a total transaction of $4,158,004.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 533,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,082,852. This represents a 6.01% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 261,903 shares of company stock worth $31,496,959 over the last quarter. Corporate 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.