Provident Living Financial Services Inc. Makes New $511,000 Investment in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Provident Living Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 4,590 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $511,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 28.8% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 98,150 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,868,000 after buying an additional 21,939 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,849 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $800,000 after buying an additional 485 shares during the period. Peterson Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.5% in the first quarter. Peterson Wealth Management now owns 50,307 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,416,000 after buying an additional 1,715 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.9% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 13,008 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,272,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the period. Finally, Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.2% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 91,341 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,931,000 after buying an additional 1,048 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on WMT shares. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Walmart from $127.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $145.00 price objective (up from $136.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective (up from $125.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Telsey Advisory Group upped their price objective on Walmart from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $150.00 price objective on Walmart and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Two investment 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $137.12.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 34,082 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.00, for a total transaction of $4,158,004.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 533,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,082,852. The trade was a 6.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.79, for a total value of $2,555,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 486,764 shares in the company, valued at $62,203,571.56. This trade represents a 3.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 274,278 shares of company stock valued at $33,825,793 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $129.13 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $125.71 and its 200-day moving average is $114.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.03 trillion, a PE ratio of 47.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.74 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $88.16 and a 12-month high of $134.69.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The retailer reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.01. The company 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 in the previous year, the firm 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 anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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

Key Headlines Impacting Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Neuberger Berman analyst John San Marco says Walmart (and Costco) deserve rich valuations, which supports investor confidence in WMT’s long-term growth positioning and helps sentiment. Costco and Walmart Deserve Their Rich Valuations, This Analyst Says
• Positive Sentiment: Celebrity investor/media support: Jim Cramer continues to highlight Walmart as a top retail holding — media praise amplifies retail investor interest and can sustain buying momentum. Jim Cramer Makes Major Prediction For Walmart (WMT) Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic growth initiatives: Coverage notes Walmart’s EV charging rollout as a new, tangible growth/ESG initiative that can drive store traffic and small-service revenue streams while underscoring long-term network leverage. Walmart EV Charging Push Adds New Dimension To Investment Case
• Neutral Sentiment: YTD performance and fundamentals: Coverage highlights a ~14% YTD rise driven by omnichannel e‑commerce, ad monetization and memberships, but notes the stock carries a premium multiple and faces macro risk — useful context but mixed for immediate price action. Walmart Stock Gains 14% YTD: Buy, Hold or Take Profits Now?
• Neutral Sentiment: Corporate updates and forums: Walmart presented at the J.P. Morgan Retail Round-Up (transcript available) — investor takeaways will depend on operational detail and execution updates in the transcript. Walmart Inc. (WMT) Presents at J.P. Morgan Retail Round Up Forum 2026 Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Minor analyst model tweak: Erste Group trimmed its FY2028 EPS forecast by a penny while maintaining a Strong‑Buy — a negligible earnings cut but a note that analysts are still parsing forward assumptions.
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation & re‑rating risk: Several pieces ask whether WMT is still reasonably priced after a big multi‑year run; premium multiples raise the risk of pullbacks if growth or margin improvements slow. Is Walmart (WMT) Still Reasonably Priced After A 51% One Year Share Price Surge?
• Negative Sentiment: Sam’s Club membership price hikes: New Sam’s Club fee increases (effective May 1) could lift ARPU, but risk member backlash or churn that investors will monitor. New Sam’s Club Price Hikes Take Effect May 1. Should You Buy Walmart Stock First?

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.