Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 178,915 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,973 shares during the quarter. Walmart accounts for about 0.7% of Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $19,933,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Archford Capital Strategies LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Archford Capital Strategies LLC now owns 73,990 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,243,000 after buying an additional 1,585 shares in the last quarter. Shrier Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $3,508,000. Brady Martz Wealth Solutions LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 237.8% during the fourth quarter. Brady Martz Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 7,648 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $852,000 after acquiring an additional 5,384 shares in the last quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 73,036 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,137,000 after acquiring an additional 419 shares during the period. Finally, Shum Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Walmart by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Shum Financial Group Inc. now owns 22,510 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,508,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Donna Morris sold 76,181 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 402,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,772,492.88. The trade was a 15.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 34,082 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.00, for a total transaction of $4,158,004.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 533,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,082,852. This trade represents a 6.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 274,278 shares of company stock worth $33,825,793. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WMT opened at $124.74 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $994.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.53, a P/E/G ratio of 4.63 and a beta of 0.66. 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $124.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $114.05. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $79.81 and a twelve month high of $134.69.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The retailer reported $0.74 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $190.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $188.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.66 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter 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 anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.8%. Walmart’s payout ratio is presently 36.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WMT. Jefferies Financial Group set a $145.00 price objective on Walmart in a report on Friday, February 20th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 price target (up from $125.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $138.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 20th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price objective (up from $136.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 20th. One 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $135.76.

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.