Woodard & Co. Asset Management Group Inc. ADV Boosts Stock Position in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Woodard & Co. Asset Management Group Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 24.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 21,809 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 4,327 shares during the period. Woodard & Co. Asset Management Group Inc. ADV’s holdings in Walmart were worth $2,430,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,709,000. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 16.6% in the third quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 63,782 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,567,000 after purchasing an additional 9,061 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 2.9% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,010,886 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $104,182,000 after purchasing an additional 28,026 shares in the last quarter. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners grew its holdings in Walmart by 466.6% during the 3rd quarter. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners now owns 13,343 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,375,000 after acquiring an additional 10,988 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tradewinds LLC. acquired a new position in Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $11,077,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart announced a third U.S. milk-processing facility, a $350 million investment to boost domestic dairy supply and vertical integration, which should cut supply-chain risk and support grocery margins. Walmart opens third U.S. milk processing facility with $350 million investment
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart earmarked millions for multiple Arizona store upgrades — investments that can boost traffic, comps and localized competitiveness. Walmart earmarks millions for multiple Arizona store upgrades
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional investor Alecta increased its Walmart stake by ~406,400 shares, a sign of confidence from a large pension investor. Alecta Pensionsforsakring Boosts Walmart Stake by 406,400 Shares
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart is expanding local-product assortments (e.g., region-specific coffee/beans) to better serve price‑sensitive consumers and differentiate merchandising — a low-cost way to improve basket relevance. Walmart Eyes Local Products as National Consumer Mood Sours
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage and analyst pieces debate Walmart vs. Costco and reiterate bullish theses on WMT’s e‑commerce gains and higher‑income customer mix — these keep sentiment constructive but don’t change fundamentals immediately. Better Buy: Walmart or Costco Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Several bullish write-ups (Yahoo/InsiderMonkey summarizing a Substack thesis) highlight valuation and growth arguments; useful for sentiment but not new company action. Is Walmart Inc. (WMT) A Good Stock To Buy Now?
• Neutral Sentiment: Walmart’s Acres for America grants program awarded $5.4M in conservation grants — positive for ESG profile but limited direct financial impact. NFWF Announces $5.4 Million in Grants from Walmart’s Acres for America Program
• Neutral Sentiment: Internal leadership redesign (changes to store-lead roles and retention moves for high-paid managers) suggests workforce optimization; could reduce costs or create short-term disruption depending on execution. Walmart redesigns its leadership pipeline as managers making $400K stay for longer

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Donna Morris sold 76,181 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.79, for a total value of $9,430,445.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 402,072 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,772,492.88. This represents a 15.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.27, for a total transaction of $2,445,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 506,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,962,034.28. The trade was a 3.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 263,376 shares of company stock worth $32,851,650. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $134.00 price target (up from $129.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 20th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, January 18th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $137.79.

Walmart Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $131.60 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $125.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $117.67. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $91.89 and a 12-month high of $134.69. 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 stock has a market cap of $1.05 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.03, a PEG ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 0.65.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The retailer reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.01. Walmart had a net margin of 3.07% and a return on equity of 21.44%. The business had revenue of $190.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $188.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.66 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter 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. On average, equities analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.13%.

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.