Ponta Wealth Partners LLC Purchases Shares of 7,968 Walmart Inc. $WMT

Ponta Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 7,968 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $888,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 188.1% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,663,172 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,199,907,000 after acquiring an additional 7,614,172 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Walmart by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 439,957,146 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $49,015,626,000 after purchasing an additional 4,304,436 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 20.5% during the third quarter. Amundi now owns 23,497,921 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,413,236,000 after purchasing an additional 4,004,277 shares during the last quarter. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the third quarter valued at $294,621,000. Finally, PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $280,736,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.79, for a total transaction of $2,555,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 486,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $62,203,571.56. The trade was a 3.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 596,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $74,334,117.76. This trade represents a 0.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 167,195 shares of company stock valued at $20,975,804 in the last ninety days. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT stock opened at $130.08 on Thursday. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $91.89 and a 52-week high of $134.69. The stock has a market cap of $1.04 trillion, a PE ratio of 47.47, a PEG ratio of 4.87 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.79. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $125.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $118.06.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last released 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 firm had revenue of $190.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $188.37 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 3.07% and a return on equity of 21.44%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business 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, analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 11th. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Walmart’s payout ratio is 36.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Tigress Financial set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Walmart and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. BTIG Research boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, March 6th. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and set a $138.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on Walmart from $125.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $137.94.

Trending Headlines about Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart reported an EPS and revenue beat for the latest quarter and reiterated FY2027 guidance (EPS 2.75–2.85), which supports the company’s cash flow and dividend outlook.
• Positive Sentiment: BTIG raised its price target to $145 and kept a “buy” rating, providing analyst support that implies upside from current levels. BTIG raises WMT price target
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage pieces highlighting Walmart as a long-term dividend compounder reinforce investor confidence in its shareholder-return profile. Walmart dividend long-term payoff
• Neutral Sentiment: Walmart Canada launched a spring fundraising campaign with a $1M donation to Children’s Miracle Network—positive PR but limited direct impact on U.S. retail fundamentals. Walmart Canada fundraising campaign
• Neutral Sentiment: Comparative retail coverage looking at Walmart vs. Target and Costco is informational for market share and sentiment but doesn’t immediately change fundamentals. Big-box chain comparison
• Neutral Sentiment: Hedge fund RWWM trimmed a small Walmart stake (2,388 shares); this is a minor institutional move and unlikely to drive major stock direction alone. RWWM trims WMT stake
• Negative Sentiment: Workers and safety headlines: Walmart partially reversed recent cart-handling rules for employees filling online orders after safety concerns, a labor/safety issue that can invite scrutiny and operational friction. Walmart changes cart rules after safety concerns
• Negative Sentiment: A recent Seeking Alpha piece argues Walmart’s current valuation is hard to justify, highlighting the high P/E and moderating growth — commentary that can pressure sentiment among value/quant funds. Seeking Alpha valuation critique

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.