Jones Kertz & Associates Inc. Buys New Shares in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Jones Kertz & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 19,411 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $2,163,000. Walmart accounts for about 1.1% of Jones Kertz & Associates Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Beacon Financial Strategies CORP acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Roble Belko & Company Inc increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 212.6% during the 3rd quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 322 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.72, for a total value of $361,688.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 596,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $74,334,117.76. This trade represents a 0.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.84, for a total transaction of $1,638,525.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 674,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $84,162,384.08. This trade represents a 1.91% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 243,960 shares of company stock valued at $30,284,661 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart announced a new business unit, Upstream Facility Services, to sell maintenance services to other businesses — a push to monetize logistics/operations expertise beyond retail that could add recurring revenue and higher-margin service income. Walmart Inc. (WMT) Diversifies Beyond Retail Into Maintenance Services
• Positive Sentiment: Sam’s Club launched a one?hour delivery option for members, escalating competition with Costco and Amazon on convenience and helping Walmart drive higher basket frequency and membership value. Faster delivery supports digital growth and same?day monetization. Walmart’s warehouse club ups the pressure on Costco with a new member perk
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its price target on WMT to $140 and keeps an “overweight” rating — a visible buy?side endorsement that can lift sentiment and flows into the stock. Benzinga analyst note
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart is expanding healthcare/omnichannel offerings (Better Care Services, GLP?1 support) and integrating pharmacy/virtual care — moves that broaden addressable market and higher?margin services revenue. Walmart Boosts Growth Playbook With Healthcare, Omnichannel Push
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart is revamping its Great Value private?label across ~10,000 items and modernizing stores and delivery staging — initiatives aimed at margin improvement, stronger value perception and better e?commerce fulfillment. Walmart Revamps ‘Great Value’ Brand as Shoppers Shift to Lower-Priced Options
• Neutral Sentiment: WMT is a frequently trending stock and subject of value/peer comparisons (e.g., Carrefour) and analyst roundup pieces — useful for sentiment tracking but not immediate catalysts. CRRFY vs. WMT: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?
• Neutral Sentiment: Partnerships like the Back to the Roots soil?health product at Walmart are positive for brand and CSR but represent a modest direct financial impact. Back to the Roots Scales Regenerative Movement Nationwide
• Negative Sentiment: A California court complaint alleges Amazon coerced vendors to pressure retailers like Walmart into raising prices — if investigations expand, it could create regulatory scrutiny or supplier dynamics that indirectly affect Walmart’s pricing and relationships. California says Amazon coerced companies into illegally raising prices

Walmart Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:WMT opened at $129.98 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $91.89 and a 52-week high of $134.69. The company has a 50 day moving average of $125.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $116.53. The company has a market capitalization of $1.04 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.83 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.01. Walmart had a net margin of 3.07% and a return on equity of 21.44%. The company 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 earned $0.66 earnings per share. Walmart’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, analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 11th will be given a $0.2475 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 11th. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. HSBC downgraded Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $122.00 to $131.00 in a report on Friday, February 20th. Mizuho upped their price objective on Walmart from $125.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $147.00 price objective (up from $135.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 20th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $140.00 price objective (up from $125.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Walmart from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $137.79.

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.