WINTON GROUP Ltd Buys New Position in Walmart Inc. $WMT

WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 168,798 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $17,396,000. Walmart comprises 0.7% of WINTON GROUP Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Pinpoint Asset Management Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth $915,000. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. now owns 33,703 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,436,000 after acquiring an additional 839 shares during the last quarter. Navalign LLC grew its position in Walmart by 0.6% in the third quarter. Navalign LLC now owns 24,525 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,528,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp increased its stake in Walmart by 1.7% in the third quarter. Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp now owns 9,634 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $993,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Planning Directions Inc. increased its stake in Walmart by 3.9% in the third quarter. Planning Directions Inc. now owns 5,587 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $576,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 34,082 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.00, for a total transaction of $4,158,004.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 533,466 shares in the company, valued at $65,082,852. This represents a 6.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.83, for a total transaction of $2,171,291.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,315,333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $482,583,689.39. The trade was a 0.45% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 279,703 shares of company stock valued at $34,140,843 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $134.00 price target (up from $129.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $150.00 price objective on Walmart in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. HSBC downgraded Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $122.00 to $131.00 in a research report on Friday, February 20th. CICC Research began coverage on Walmart in a research note on Friday, December 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $125.00 target price for the company. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price target (up from $136.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $135.76.

Walmart Trading Up 0.4%

NASDAQ WMT opened at $123.80 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $986.71 billion, a PE ratio of 45.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.61 and a beta of 0.66. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $79.81 and a 1-year high of $134.69. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $121.87 and a 200-day moving average of $111.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The retailer reported $0.74 earnings per share (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 return on equity of 21.44% and a net margin of 3.07%.Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $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, sell-side analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

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 paid a $0.2475 dividend. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 11th. Walmart’s payout ratio is presently 36.13%.

Walmart 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.