First Trust Advisors LP Buys 2,041,493 Shares of Walmart Inc. $WMT

First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 239.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,893,973 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,041,493 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Walmart were worth $298,253,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WMT. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 1.0% during the third quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,926 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,023,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 1.1% in the second quarter. Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 8,707 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $851,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 2.1% in the second quarter. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,804 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $470,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 5,695 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $586,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. Finally, Boomfish Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Boomfish Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,701 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $381,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Walmart News

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: OpenAI reportedly pulling back on direct purchases in ChatGPT could send more checkout traffic to retailer apps, giving Walmart’s commerce and app ecosystem an advantage. ChatGPT’s Retail Retreat Hands Walmart An AI Advantage: Analyst
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary and re‑rated fair‑value models are lifting the tech/AI narrative around Walmart, producing higher price targets and supporting upside expectations from investors focused on digital and ads monetization. How Walmart (WMT) Is Rewriting Its Story With Tech, AI And A Richer Valuation Debate
• Positive Sentiment: Company execution reminders — new store formats and ongoing omnichannel growth — reinforce the core retail case that underpins earnings stability. Walmart Opens Next Generation Supercenter in The Villages
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor attention is high — search and readership spikes (Zacks/Yahoo) and conference transcripts give analysts more to parse but contain no single market‑moving surprise. Investors Heavily Search Walmart Inc. (WMT): Here is What You Need to Know
• Negative Sentiment: A reported sale by a 10% Walmart owner totaling roughly $136.45M adds supply pressure and can prompt short‑term negative sentiment despite not reflecting company fundamentals. 10% Owner Of Walmart Sold $136.45M In Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Analyses highlight a cautious forward outlook and attention to a ~$100M regulatory settlement tied to the Spark Driver program — both factors that pressured the stock in recent sessions. Walmart slides as cautious outlook and regulatory settlement weigh on sentiment
• Negative Sentiment: Ongoing tariff and import risks remain a margin headwind risk given Walmart’s large import footprint; rising trade frictions could pressure costs if not passed to customers. Walmart: Navigating A Bumpy Tariff Environment

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.83, for a total transaction of $2,171,291.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,315,333 shares in the company, valued at $482,583,689.39. This represents a 0.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.99, for a total value of $1,574,868.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 727,155 shares in the company, valued at $87,251,328.45. This trade represents a 1.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 279,703 shares of company stock valued at $34,140,843. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Walmart Price Performance

Walmart stock opened at $123.80 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $986.71 billion, a PE ratio of 45.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.59 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $121.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $110.93. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $79.81 and a one year high of $134.69.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last released 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 firm had revenue of $190.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $188.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.66 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. 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, research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Investors of record on Friday, December 11th will be given a dividend of $0.2475 per share. 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 (DPR) is currently 34.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on WMT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $138.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 20th. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $145.00 price target (up from $128.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and set a $140.00 price objective (up from $130.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, January 18th. Finally, HSBC downgraded shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price target for the company from $122.00 to $131.00 in a research note on Friday, February 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $135.76.

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.