Stephens Inc. AR Raises Holdings in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Stephens Inc. AR increased its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 4.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,443,129 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 55,336 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up about 2.0% of Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest position. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Walmart were worth $160,790,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Walmart by 188.1% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,663,172 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,199,907,000 after buying an additional 7,614,172 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Walmart by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 439,957,146 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $49,015,626,000 after buying an additional 4,304,436 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its position in Walmart by 20.5% in the third quarter. Amundi now owns 23,497,921 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,413,236,000 after buying an additional 4,004,277 shares during the last quarter. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in Walmart in the third quarter worth $294,621,000. Finally, PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $280,736,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, CEO John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.84, for a total transaction of $1,638,525.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 674,162 shares in the company, valued at approximately $84,162,384.08. The trade was a 1.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,335 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.63, for a total value of $166,381.05. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 636,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $79,369,743.09. The trade was a 0.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 167,195 shares of company stock worth $20,975,804 in the last 90 days. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

More Walmart News

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: UBS and other analysts expect Walmart to deliver another strong quarter, helped by resilient grocery demand, e-commerce growth, and advertising momentum, which could support the stock if results meet or exceed expectations.
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America said Walmart’s consistent sales growth should be rewarded by the market, reinforcing the view that WMT remains a defensive growth name ahead of earnings.
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary also highlights Walmart as a long-term growth and momentum stock, with investors continuing to search for the name ahead of the report.
• Neutral Sentiment: Walmart said it will host its first-quarter earnings conference call on May 21, keeping attention focused on upcoming results and guidance rather than any new business update. Walmart To Host First Quarter Earnings Conference Call May 21, 2026
• Negative Sentiment: One bearish analysis argued that expectations may be too high versus Walmart’s own guidance, warning that reported sales growth may not be enough to justify a further move higher and that investors may want to trim positions.

Walmart Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WMT opened at $131.45 on Friday. 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 Inc. has a 52-week low of $93.43 and a 52-week high of $134.69. The firm has a market cap of $1.05 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.97, a PEG ratio of 4.93 and a beta of 0.65. The business’s fifty day moving average is $126.37 and its 200 day moving average is $119.15.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last released 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. 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 analyst estimates of $188.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.66 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Walmart has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.750-2.850 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 0.610-0.610 EPS. Research analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Friday, December 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.2475 per share. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 11th. Walmart’s payout ratio is presently 36.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on WMT shares. DA Davidson set a $150.00 target price on Walmart and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $145.00 target price on Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Bank of America started coverage on Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $150.00 target price for the company. Guggenheim raised their target price on Walmart from $120.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $130.00 target price (up from $125.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. 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, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $138.88.

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.