South Dakota Investment Council Reduces Stake in Walmart Inc. $WMT

South Dakota Investment Council cut its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 18.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 76,065 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 16,931 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Walmart were worth $7,839,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WMT. Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,709,000. CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 24.2% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,175,703 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $121,168,000 after buying an additional 229,220 shares during the last quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC raised its position in Walmart by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 5,091,126 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $497,771,000 after purchasing an additional 42,645 shares during the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. raised its position in shares of Walmart by 16.6% during the third quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 63,782 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,567,000 after acquiring an additional 9,061 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aviva PLC lifted its position in Walmart by 16.4% during the 2nd quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 3,833,720 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $374,861,000 after purchasing an additional 539,504 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $127.91 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.02 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.73 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $121.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $110.56. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $79.81 and a twelve month high of $134.69.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The retailer reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.01. The firm 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 company’s revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last 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. Analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.2475 per share. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 11th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is 34.31%.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 34,082 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.00, for a total value of $4,158,004.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 533,466 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,082,852. This trade represents a 6.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 4,023,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $509,780,812.39. The trade was a 0.48% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 259,703 shares of company stock worth $31,585,043. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMT has been the topic of several recent research reports. CICC Research assumed coverage on Walmart in a research report on Friday, December 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $125.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $138.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $145.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $138.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $134.42.

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.