Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC Sells 5,882 Shares of Walmart Inc. $WMT

Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 11.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 45,021 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 5,882 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for approximately 0.1% of Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $5,016,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WMT. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 188.1% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Walmart by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 439,957,146 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $49,015,626,000 after acquiring an additional 4,304,436 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its holdings in Walmart by 20.5% in the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 23,497,921 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,413,236,000 after acquiring an additional 4,004,277 shares during the last quarter. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth $294,621,000. Finally, PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $280,736,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:WMT opened at $130.08 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $1.04 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.47, a PEG ratio of 4.87 and a beta of 0.65. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $91.89 and a 12 month high of $134.69. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $125.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $118.06.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The retailer reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.01. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.44% and a net margin of 3.07%.The company had revenue of $190.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $188.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.66 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. 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, equities research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Investors of record on Friday, December 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.2475 per share. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 11th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Argus upgraded Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Wall Street Zen lowered Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 18th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price target (up from $136.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 20th. Craig Hallum set a $150.00 price objective on Walmart in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 price objective (up from $125.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $137.94.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 16th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $74,334,117.76. This trade represents a 0.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.79, for a total transaction of $2,555,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 486,764 shares in the company, valued at $62,203,571.56. This trade represents a 3.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 167,195 shares of company stock worth $20,975,804 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Company 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.