Congress Asset Management Co. Increases Stake in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 705.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 122,689 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 107,460 shares during the quarter. Congress Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $13,669,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Collier Financial bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Roble Belko & Company Inc lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 212.6% in the 3rd 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. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart’s ad business surged ~37% in Q4, which boosts higher-margin revenue and could improve overall profitability going forward. Walmart’s Ad Business Jumps 37%: Margin Upside Ahead?
• Positive Sentiment: Recent quarterly results beat consensus (EPS and revenue) and management set FY2027 EPS guidance (2.75–2.85), supporting the view that Walmart’s core retail performance and membership/ads mix are improving.
• Positive Sentiment: New national product distribution deals (example: Zep cleaning products now carried nationwide at Walmart) show ongoing assortment and supplier momentum that can drive traffic and category share. Zep Expands Home Pro Distribution at Walmart
• Neutral Sentiment: Technical/market commentary is highlighting Walmart as a buy point amid broader market weakness — useful for momentum traders but less material to fundamentals. Dow Jones discount retailer Walmart offers latest buy point amid market weakness
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry logistics moves — FedEx launching same‑day options as retailers (including Walmart) race to speed up delivery — are an operational/competitive factor to watch but not an immediate earnings shock. FedEx launches same-day delivery with OneRail
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest reports in the feed show zero or data anomalies (0 shares / NaN increases) and a days-to-cover of 0.0 — not currently informative for sentiment.
• Negative Sentiment: A plaintiffs’ law firm is investigating Walmart’s board for possible breach of fiduciary duty related to alleged deceptive pay practices for Spark drivers — a governance/legal risk that could lead to litigation or reputational costs. Berger Montague PC Investigates Walmart Board for Breach of Fiduciary Duty
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: the CEO reported selling roughly $1.6M of WMT stock — a signal some investors watch closely even though sales can be routine. Walmart CEO Sells $1,600,725.00 in Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst commentary questioning Walmart’s “all-weather” defensive status suggests valuation and crowding risks for investors who expect steady downside protection; this is a cautionary view on medium-term upside. Walmart: All-Weather Status Ironically Creates Risk For Investors

Walmart Trading Up 1.1%

WMT opened at $122.05 on Wednesday. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $79.81 and a one year high of $134.69. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $124.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $113.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $973.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.54, a PEG ratio of 4.50 and a beta of 0.66.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The retailer reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $188.37 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.66 EPS. The business’s quarterly 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. Analysts predict 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 issued a $0.2475 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 11th. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Walmart’s payout ratio is 36.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and set a $140.00 price target (up from $130.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Walmart from $127.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Tigress Financial set a $150.00 price objective on Walmart and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $147.00 target price (up from $135.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $140.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $135.76.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other 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 value of $2,171,291.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly 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 accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 34,082 shares of Walmart 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 533,466 shares in the company, valued at $65,082,852. The trade was a 6.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 274,278 shares of company stock worth $33,605,809. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.