New York State Teachers Retirement System Lowers Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. $WMT

New York State Teachers Retirement System decreased its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,526,028 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 79,715 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up 0.8% of New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest holding. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Walmart were worth $392,835,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WMT. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 188.1% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,663,172 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,199,907,000 after buying an additional 7,614,172 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 439,957,146 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $49,015,626,000 after buying an additional 4,304,436 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 20.5% during the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 23,497,921 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,413,236,000 after buying an additional 4,004,277 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at $294,621,000. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1,991.9% during the 2nd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 2,549,719 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $249,312,000 after buying an additional 2,427,834 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WMT. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $127.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $125.00 price target (up from $108.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $140.00 price target (up from $130.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $130.00 price target (up from $125.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $137.79.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, CEO John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.84, for a total value of $1,638,525.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 674,162 shares in the company, valued at $84,162,384.08. The trade was a 1.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,335 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.63, for a total transaction of $166,381.05. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 636,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $79,369,743.09. This trade represents a 0.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 263,376 shares of company stock worth $32,851,650. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Large supply?chain investment — Walmart opened its third owned milk processing facility (Robinson, TX) and is investing in milk capacity to strengthen domestic supply, lower costs and secure private?label supply chains, which supports margin and product availability. Walmart Opens Third Owned and Operated Milk Processing Facility in Robinson, Texas, Creating More Than 400 New Jobs Walmart invests in new milk plant to grow US supply chain
• Positive Sentiment: Leadership redesign aimed at retention and execution — Walmart is eliminating the “store lead” role while expanding higher?paid managerial positions to keep senior managers longer and accelerate store execution and merchandising (including a fashion push). Investors view this as a move to improve in?store performance and strategic initiatives. Walmart redesigns its leadership pipeline as managers making $400K stay for longer
• Positive Sentiment: Local assortment strategy — Walmart is expanding local products in select markets to better match tightened consumer budgets and preferences, a tactical move that can drive traffic and margins in price?sensitive areas. Walmart Eyes Local Products as National Consumer Mood Sours
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional buying — Alecta Pensionsforsakring increased its Walmart stake, a signal of confidence from a large investor that can support the stock. Alecta Pensionsforsakring Boosts Walmart Stake by 406,400 Shares
• Neutral Sentiment: Local store capital projects — Walmart is earmarking millions for upgrades at multiple Arizona stores; store refreshes can boost sales but also represent near?term capital spend. Walmart earmarks millions for multiple Arizona store upgrades
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst and media bullish coverage — Several pieces summarize bullish theses on WMT and recommend the stock as retail sentiment improves; these articles can reinforce positive investor sentiment but are not new company actions. Is Walmart Inc. (WMT) A Good Stock To Buy Now? Is Walmart Inc. (WMT) A Good Stock To Buy Now?
• Neutral Sentiment: Corporate social impact — Walmart’s Acres for America grants were announced; positive for ESG profile but unlikely to move near?term fundamentals. NFWF Announces $5.4 Million in Grants from Walmart’s Acres for America Program
• Negative Sentiment: Cost and near?term margin risk — The combination of higher?paid manager roles and heavy capital/supply?chain investments (e.g., $350M+ milk facilities) could weigh on near?term margins and free cash flow before benefits are realized. Walmart eliminates store lead positions as managers making $400K stay for longer

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WMT opened at $131.93 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $1.05 trillion, a P/E ratio of 48.15, a P/E/G ratio of 4.77 and a beta of 0.66. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $125.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $117.56. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $91.89 and a 52-week high of $134.69.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last announced 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 net margin of 3.07% and a return on equity of 21.44%. The company had revenue of $190.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $188.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.66 EPS. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 11th will be issued a $0.2475 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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%.

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.