Guardian Partners Inc. Sells 5,704 Shares of Walmart Inc. $WMT

Guardian Partners Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 4.3% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 127,921 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 5,704 shares during the period. Walmart comprises approximately 1.1% of Guardian Partners Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Guardian Partners Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $13,043,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Collier Financial purchased a new position in Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Roble Belko & Company Inc boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 212.6% during the 3rd quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 322 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the third quarter valued at about $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.71, for a total transaction of $2,460,201.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,023,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $509,780,812.39. This trade represents a 0.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 34,082 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.00, for a total value of $4,158,004.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 533,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,082,852. The trade was a 6.01% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 279,703 shares of company stock worth $34,140,843 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Key Walmart News

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: OpenAI reportedly pulling back on direct purchases in ChatGPT could send more checkout traffic to retailer apps, giving Walmart’s commerce and app ecosystem an advantage. ChatGPT’s Retail Retreat Hands Walmart An AI Advantage: Analyst
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary and re‑rated fair‑value models are lifting the tech/AI narrative around Walmart, producing higher price targets and supporting upside expectations from investors focused on digital and ads monetization. How Walmart (WMT) Is Rewriting Its Story With Tech, AI And A Richer Valuation Debate
• Positive Sentiment: Company execution reminders — new store formats and ongoing omnichannel growth — reinforce the core retail case that underpins earnings stability. Walmart Opens Next Generation Supercenter in The Villages
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor attention is high — search and readership spikes (Zacks/Yahoo) and conference transcripts give analysts more to parse but contain no single market‑moving surprise. Investors Heavily Search Walmart Inc. (WMT): Here is What You Need to Know
• Negative Sentiment: A reported sale by a 10% Walmart owner totaling roughly $136.45M adds supply pressure and can prompt short‑term negative sentiment despite not reflecting company fundamentals. 10% Owner Of Walmart Sold $136.45M In Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Analyses highlight a cautious forward outlook and attention to a ~$100M regulatory settlement tied to the Spark Driver program — both factors that pressured the stock in recent sessions. Walmart slides as cautious outlook and regulatory settlement weigh on sentiment
• Negative Sentiment: Ongoing tariff and import risks remain a margin headwind risk given Walmart’s large import footprint; rising trade frictions could pressure costs if not passed to customers. Walmart: Navigating A Bumpy Tariff Environment

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $147.00 price target (up from $120.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday. CICC Research assumed coverage on Walmart in a research report on Friday, December 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $125.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $125.00 target price (up from $108.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $135.76.

Walmart Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $123.80 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $79.81 and a 1 year high of $134.69. The firm has a market cap of $986.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.18, a PEG ratio of 4.61 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a 50-day moving average of $121.87 and a 200 day moving average of $111.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.24.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The retailer reported $0.74 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 analyst estimates of $188.37 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 3.07% and a return on equity of 21.44%. Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous 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. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 11th will be given a $0.2475 dividend. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 11th. Walmart’s payout ratio is currently 34.31%.

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.