Woodard & Co. Asset Management Group Inc. ADV Buys 4,327 Shares of Walmart Inc. $WMT

Woodard & Co. Asset Management Group Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 24.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 21,809 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,327 shares during the quarter. Woodard & Co. Asset Management Group Inc. ADV’s holdings in Walmart were worth $2,430,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Collier Financial bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the third quarter valued at $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the third quarter valued at $30,000. Beacon Financial Strategies CORP bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Roble Belko & Company Inc increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 212.6% during the third quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 322 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on WMT shares. Argus upgraded Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Guggenheim raised their price target on Walmart from $120.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, April 20th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 price objective (up from $125.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 18th. Two 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $137.79.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $131.60 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.05 trillion, a PE ratio of 48.03, a P/E/G ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $125.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $117.67. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $91.89 and a 1-year high of $134.69.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The retailer reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.01. The business 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%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $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. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $0.2475 dividend. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 11th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.13%.

Key Headlines Impacting Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart announced a third U.S. milk-processing facility, a $350 million investment to boost domestic dairy supply and vertical integration, which should cut supply-chain risk and support grocery margins. Walmart opens third U.S. milk processing facility with $350 million investment
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart earmarked millions for multiple Arizona store upgrades — investments that can boost traffic, comps and localized competitiveness. Walmart earmarks millions for multiple Arizona store upgrades
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional investor Alecta increased its Walmart stake by ~406,400 shares, a sign of confidence from a large pension investor. Alecta Pensionsforsakring Boosts Walmart Stake by 406,400 Shares
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart is expanding local-product assortments (e.g., region-specific coffee/beans) to better serve price?sensitive consumers and differentiate merchandising — a low-cost way to improve basket relevance. Walmart Eyes Local Products as National Consumer Mood Sours
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage and analyst pieces debate Walmart vs. Costco and reiterate bullish theses on WMT’s e?commerce gains and higher?income customer mix — these keep sentiment constructive but don’t change fundamentals immediately. Better Buy: Walmart or Costco Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Several bullish write-ups (Yahoo/InsiderMonkey summarizing a Substack thesis) highlight valuation and growth arguments; useful for sentiment but not new company action. Is Walmart Inc. (WMT) A Good Stock To Buy Now?
• Neutral Sentiment: Walmart’s Acres for America grants program awarded $5.4M in conservation grants — positive for ESG profile but limited direct financial impact. NFWF Announces $5.4 Million in Grants from Walmart’s Acres for America Program
• Neutral Sentiment: Internal leadership redesign (changes to store-lead roles and retention moves for high-paid managers) suggests workforce optimization; could reduce costs or create short-term disruption depending on execution. Walmart redesigns its leadership pipeline as managers making $400K stay for longer

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, CEO John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.96, for a total value of $1,600,725.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 687,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $83,821,522.52. This trade represents a 1.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 34,082 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.00, for a total value of $4,158,004.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 263,376 shares of company stock valued at $32,851,650. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Walmart

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.