Walmart Inc. $WMT Stock Holdings Lifted by Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT

Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT grew its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 28.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 511,163 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 113,090 shares during the quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT’s holdings in Walmart were worth $52,680,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 435,652,710 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $44,898,368,000 after purchasing an additional 3,835,200 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Walmart by 0.3% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 94,557,532 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $9,199,712,000 after buying an additional 263,718 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Walmart during the second quarter valued at about $5,367,770,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 3.6% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 31,973,329 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,126,775,000 after buying an additional 1,098,342 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 23.5% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 19,493,644 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,902,775,000 after acquiring an additional 3,710,506 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Company fundamentals and capital returns — Walmart reported an earnings and revenue beat, raised the quarterly dividend, and authorized a new ~$30B share repurchase program, supporting EPS upside and shareholder return expectations. Assessing Walmart’s Valuation After Earnings Beat
• Positive Sentiment: U.S. segment momentum — Walmart U.S. delivered ~4.6% comp growth driven by grocery traffic and e‑commerce strength, a key driver cited for sustaining FY27 outlook. WMT’s U.S. Segment Momentum
• Positive Sentiment: Market share gain / resilient demand — dunnhumby data shows U.S. household penetration near ~72%, indicating Walmart is capturing share versus traditional grocers amid affordability pressures. Walmart, Dollar Stores Beat Traditional Grocers’ Reach
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support — several firms (Telsey, BTIG, Wells Fargo, Oppenheimer and others) have reiterated or raised ratings/targets, lifting consensus sentiment and price-target-driven demand. Telsey Advisory Sees Walmart Strengthening Position
• Neutral Sentiment: Peer/comparison analysis — pieces comparing Walmart to other retail plays (Dollar General, traditional grocers) highlight valuation and model differences; useful for allocation decisions but not a single catalyst. Walmart or Dollar General: Which Is the Better Retail Play?
• Neutral Sentiment: Street commentary — bank notes and analyst writeups (Erste Group, others) provide context on FY outlook and margins but largely echo existing consensus rather than shifting it. Erste Group Bank Comments on Walmart FY2028 Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling — multiple senior executives, including the CEO and EVPs, disclosed sizable share sales this week; such filings can create short‑term sentiment pressure even if sales are for diversification or tax reasons. Latriece Watkins Sells 10,000 Shares
• Negative Sentiment: Macro/headline risk — Walmart highlighted a “hiring recession” context and broader consumer fragility in commentary, which could temper discretionary spending and complicate margin leverage if labor and demand trends weaken. Walmart Warns of “Hiring Recession”

Walmart Trading Up 0.7%

Walmart stock opened at $126.75 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $119.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $109.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $79.81 and a 12 month high of $134.69. The stock has a market cap of $1.01 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.02 and a beta of 0.65.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The retailer reported $0.74 EPS 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 prior year, the company posted $0.66 earnings per share. 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. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Walmart’s payout ratio is currently 34.31%.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,255 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.21, for a total transaction of $167,178.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 586,329 shares in the company, valued at $78,104,886.09. This represents a 0.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.10, for a total transaction of $1,694,437.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 591,084 shares in the company, valued at $76,308,944.40. This represents a 2.17% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 261,903 shares of company stock valued at $31,496,959. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $125.00 price objective (up from $108.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. CICC Research began coverage on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, December 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $125.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $145.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.21.

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.