Brookstone Capital Management Boosts Stake in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Brookstone Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 9.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 296,626 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 26,191 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management’s holdings in Walmart were worth $33,047,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WMT. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Walmart by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 435,652,710 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $44,898,368,000 after purchasing an additional 3,835,200 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Walmart by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 184,805,978 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $19,046,104,000 after purchasing an additional 2,242,364 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 40,298,623 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,153,176,000 after purchasing an additional 634,211 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 31,973,329 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,126,775,000 after buying an additional 1,098,342 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 27,268,463 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,810,288,000 after buying an additional 934,468 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WMT opened at $124.25 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $124.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $113.97. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $79.81 and a 52-week high of $134.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $990.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.35, a P/E/G ratio of 4.60 and a beta of 0.66.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The retailer reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $190.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $188.37 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.44% and a net margin of 3.07%.The business’s revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.66 earnings per share. 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, sell-side analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Friday, December 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.2475 per share. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 11th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on WMT shares. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $135.00 price target (up from $125.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $125.00 price objective (up from $108.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $140.00 target price (up from $130.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $125.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. One equities 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $135.76.

Insider Activity

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.27, for a total value of $2,445,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 506,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $61,962,034.28. This trade represents a 3.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.10, for a total value 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. The trade was a 2.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 274,278 shares of company stock worth $33,825,793 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.