Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Acquires 710,858 Shares of Walmart Inc. $WMT

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 49.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,139,647 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 710,858 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $241,267,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WMT. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Walmart by 28.8% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 98,150 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,868,000 after buying an additional 21,939 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,849 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $800,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares during the period. Peterson Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.5% during the first quarter. Peterson Wealth Management now owns 50,307 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,416,000 after purchasing an additional 1,715 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.9% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 13,008 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,272,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted its position in Walmart by 1.2% during the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 91,341 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,931,000 after purchasing an additional 1,048 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of WMT stock opened at $124.25 on Wednesday. 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 company has a market cap of $990.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.35, a PEG ratio of 4.60 and a beta of 0.66. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $79.81 and a 1 year high of $134.69. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $124.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $113.97.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The retailer reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $190.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $188.37 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.44% and a net margin of 3.07%.Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm 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. As a group, equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.8%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on WMT shares. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and issued a $147.00 target price (up from $120.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Bank of America started coverage on Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $150.00 price target on the stock. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $125.00 price objective (up from $108.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, January 8th. HSBC cut Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $122.00 to $131.00 in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, January 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $135.76.

Insider Activity

In other Walmart news, CEO John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 591,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $76,308,944.40. This trade represents a 2.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Donna Morris sold 76,181 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.79, for a total transaction of $9,430,445.99. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 402,072 shares in the company, valued at $49,772,492.88. This represents a 15.93% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 274,278 shares of company stock worth $33,825,793. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.