E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. Has $1.78 Million Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. $WMT

E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. increased its position in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 59,070.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,976 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 15,949 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for approximately 0.7% of E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,780,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Collier Financial bought a new position in Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP bought a new position in Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Beacon Financial Strategies CORP bought a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 57.4% in the 4th quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart’s restructuring appears aimed at streamlining operations and improving coordination across tech and AI teams, which could boost efficiency and profitability if executed well.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary ahead of earnings remains constructive, with reports highlighting Walmart’s strong earnings-surprise track record and arguing that its premium valuation is justified by growth and execution.
• Positive Sentiment: Pre-earnings research from major analysts has reiterated favorable views on Walmart, suggesting expectations remain high heading into the company’s quarterly report.
• Neutral Sentiment: The job cuts were reported to be part of an internal reorganization rather than a direct response to AI replacing workers, which limits the read-through to near-term fundamentals. Walmart lays off or relocates about 1,000 corporate workers, WSJ reports
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles also framed the move as a broader digital-transformation effort, but the actual earnings impact is still unclear until Walmart reports results and guidance.
• Negative Sentiment: Layoffs can sometimes signal management caution or cost pressure, and investor reaction may be tempered by the fact that Walmart’s shares already trade at a premium valuation ahead of earnings.

Walmart Stock Up 0.9%

WMT stock opened at $131.47 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $126.21 and a 200-day moving average of $118.87. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $91.89 and a fifty-two week high of $134.69. The company has a market capitalization of $1.05 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.98, a PEG ratio of 4.85 and a beta of 0.65. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $190.66 billion for 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%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.66 EPS. 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 Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WMT. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $147.00 price target (up from $135.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $145.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $145.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Tuesday. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $127.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $138.67.

Insider Activity

In other Walmart news, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.21, for a total value of $2,566,989.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,193,995 shares in the company, valued at $554,488,078.95. This trade represents a 0.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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 Christopher James Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.72, for a total value of $361,688.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 596,008 shares in the company, valued at approximately $74,334,117.76. This represents a 0.48% 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 quarter, insiders have sold 167,195 shares of company stock valued at $20,975,804. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.