Merit Financial Group LLC Grows Stake in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 10.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 340,015 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 31,577 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $37,881,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WMT. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 28.8% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 98,150 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,868,000 after buying an additional 21,939 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,849 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $800,000 after buying an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Peterson Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Peterson Wealth Management now owns 50,307 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,416,000 after buying an additional 1,715 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 13,008 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,272,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 91,341 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,931,000 after buying an additional 1,048 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Company announces its largest U.S. store modernization program — 650+ remodels and ~20 new openings through 2027 to improve layouts, tech, pickup and delivery integration, aimed at accelerating omnichannel sales and same-store traffic. Walmart Modernizes U.S. Stores As Omnichannel Investment Meets Fair Value Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart is expanding health/weight-management services (Better Care Services) to support customers using or exploring GLP-1s — a higher-margin service layer that can drive pharmacy and virtual-care revenue and deepen customer engagement. Walmart Expands Access to Weight Management Support Services for Customers on or exploring GLP-1s
• Positive Sentiment: Flipkart (Walmart-owned) plans to enter India’s ticketing market for movies and live events, offering a new revenue stream in a fast-growing entertainment sector and strengthening Flipkart’s consumer proposition. Walmart’s Flipkart plans foray into India’s ticketing market as live events boom
• Positive Sentiment: A small institutional buyer (BCS Wealth Management) increased its WMT stake, a sign of incremental fund interest though not a major ownership shift. BCS Wealth Management Has $1.61 Million Stake in Walmart Inc. $WMT
• Neutral Sentiment: Walmart is refreshing its Great Value private-label packaging — a brand update that can support shelf appeal and private-label mix but is unlikely to move near-term revenue materially. Walmart announces a redesign of its Great Value brand
• Neutral Sentiment: Walmart launched branded fashion collaborations (e.g., a Devil Wears Prada collection) — useful for marketing and traffic but unlikely to be a major earnings driver. Fashion moves: Walmart launches a collection tied to The Devil Wears Prada
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary on potential Sam’s Club membership fee increases could help U.S. club margins if implemented, but the competitive impact vs. Costco remains uncertain. Will Increased Membership Fees at Walmart’s Sam’s Club Actually Boost Costco’s Stock Instead?
• Negative Sentiment: Several senior executives sold shares over April 15–16 (EVPs Daniel Bartlett and Christopher Nicholas, and CEO John Furner). Each sale was small relative to holdings and executed under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans, but the headline risk can create short-term selling pressure or negative investor perception. Daniel J. Bartlett Form 4 Christopher James Nicholas Form 4 John R. Furner Form 4

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, CEO John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.96, for a total value of $1,600,725.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 687,287 shares in the company, valued at $83,821,522.52. The trade was a 1.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 34,082 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.00, for a total value of $4,158,004.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 533,466 shares in the company, valued at $65,082,852. The trade was a 6.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 263,376 shares of company stock valued at $32,598,466 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $147.00 price target (up from $135.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Guggenheim raised their price target on Walmart from $120.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Mizuho raised their price target on Walmart from $125.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $135.00 price target (up from $125.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $137.64.

Walmart Price Performance

NASDAQ WMT opened at $127.50 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.02 trillion, a PE ratio of 46.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.79. The business’s fifty day moving average is $125.64 and its 200 day moving average is $115.96. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $91.34 and a fifty-two week high of $134.69.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The retailer reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.01. The company 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%.Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period 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. Sell-side analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 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. Investors 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 yield of 0.8%. Walmart’s payout ratio 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.