Providence First Trust Co Has $1.78 Million Stake in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Providence First Trust Co reduced its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 29.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,951 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 6,617 shares during the period. Providence First Trust Co’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,777,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WMT. Collier Financial bought a new stake in Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Beacon Financial Strategies CORP bought a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 57.4% during the fourth quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 596,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $74,334,117.76. This represents a 0.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 674,162 shares in the company, valued at $84,162,384.08. This represents a 1.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 167,195 shares of company stock worth $20,975,804. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on WMT shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, April 20th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 target price (up from $136.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, March 6th. HSBC downgraded shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $122.00 to $131.00 in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $137.79.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WMT opened at $130.79 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.04 trillion, a PE ratio of 47.73, a P/E/G ratio of 4.85 and a beta of 0.65. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $91.89 and a twelve month high of $134.69. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $125.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $117.90.

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

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.