Northbridge Financial Group LLC Purchases Shares of 5,353 Walmart Inc. $WMT

Northbridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 5,353 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $596,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 520,544 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $57,994,000 after purchasing an additional 13,699 shares during the last quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 12,084 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,346,000 after purchasing an additional 542 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 27.3% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. now owns 28,000 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,119,000 after purchasing an additional 6,000 shares during the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 18.9% during the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 8,728 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $972,000 after purchasing an additional 1,386 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Forefront Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $211,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WMT shares. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $147.00 price objective (up from $135.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, April 20th. BTIG Research raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $120.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.88.

Walmart Stock Up 0.6%

NASDAQ WMT opened at $134.20 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.07 trillion, a PE ratio of 48.98, a PEG ratio of 4.93 and a beta of 0.65. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $93.43 and a twelve month high of $135.16. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $126.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $119.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.79.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The retailer reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $190.66 billion during 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%.Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $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, research analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Friday, December 11th will be given a $0.2475 dividend. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 11th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.13%.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, EVP Latriece Watkins sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.46, for a total value of $1,214,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 108,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,153,389.24. This trade represents a 8.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 transaction of $4,158,004.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 533,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,082,852. This represents a 6.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 167,190 shares of company stock valued at $20,975,838 over the last 90 days. Corporate 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: Analysts have been raising price targets and reiterating bullish ratings on Walmart ahead of earnings, reflecting confidence in the company’s execution and near-term outlook. Walmart stock: Here’s why analysts are raising price targets before Q1 earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart is benefiting from its scale, digital expansion, and higher-margin businesses, which are helping it outperform rivals and absorb tariff-related cost pressure better than peers. Scale, online push and loyalty fees: how Walmart won the year of the tariffs
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart is expected to deliver solid Q1 results, with investors watching for continued omnichannel momentum, e-commerce growth, and gains in ads and membership revenue. Walmart Looks Strong Ahead of Q1 Earnings: Should Investors Stay Put?
• Positive Sentiment: Management’s push into AI and automation could support margins over time by improving fulfillment efficiency and lowering operating costs. Walmart’s AI and Automation Push: Long-Term Cost Advantage?
• Neutral Sentiment: One small insider sale by EVP Daniel Bartlett is a headline risk, but it was a pre-arranged 10b5-1 transaction and does not appear to signal a major change in outlook. SEC Form 4 filing
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader retail comparisons and market worries around consumer spending and geopolitics may create short-term volatility, but they also reinforce Walmart’s defensive appeal. NVDA, WMT Report This Week, but News on the Strait Is Key

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.