Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC Decreases Holdings in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 11.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 133,821 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 16,983 shares during the quarter. Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $14,909,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Walmart by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 435,652,710 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $44,898,368,000 after purchasing an additional 3,835,200 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Walmart by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 184,805,978 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $19,046,104,000 after purchasing an additional 2,242,364 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 40,298,623 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,153,176,000 after purchasing an additional 634,211 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of Walmart by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 27,268,463 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,810,288,000 after purchasing an additional 934,468 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Walmart by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 24,990,692 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,575,541,000 after purchasing an additional 93,459 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WMT. Guggenheim increased 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. Argus raised Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $140.00 price objective (up from $125.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, February 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $120.00 price objective on Walmart in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $134.00 price objective (up from $129.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $137.64.

Walmart Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ WMT opened at $129.60 on Wednesday. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $91.89 and a 52 week high of $134.69. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $125.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $116.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company has a market cap of $1.03 trillion, a P/E ratio of 47.30, a P/E/G ratio of 4.76 and a beta of 0.66.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The retailer reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.01. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.44% and a net margin of 3.07%.The business had revenue of $190.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $188.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.66 EPS. The firm’s revenue 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 anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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

Key Headlines Impacting Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart is accelerating omnichannel and fulfillment upgrades — testing back‑room staging for same‑day delivery, expanding pickup/delivery infrastructure, and planning 650+ remodels plus ~20 new stores to support faster fulfillment and e‑commerce growth. These moves aim to cut delivery times vs. competitors and monetize store footprint. Walmart Eyes Stores as Warehouse Space for Same-Day Delivery (FT)
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart is revamping its Great Value private‑label (nearly 10,000 items) and modernizing stores/marketplace offerings to sharpen value perception and margins — a direct play to capture budget-conscious shoppers and boost private-label profitability. Walmart Revamps ‘Great Value’ Brand (Reuters coverage)
• Positive Sentiment: Healthcare expansion: Walmart is expanding Better Care Services to include GLP‑1 weight‑management support and integrated virtual care + pharmacy access — a potentially high‑margin, recurring service channel that diversifies revenue beyond retail. Walmart Boosts Growth Playbook With Healthcare, Omnichannel Push
• Positive Sentiment: Market attention and dividend appeal — coverage highlighting Walmart as a reliable dividend/value retailer and a “trending” pick is supporting demand from income and large‑cap investors amid broader market weakness. 3 Dividend Stocks There’s No Need to Second-Guess (Fool)
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks and Yahoo pieces note high retail investor interest in WMT and summarize prospects — useful for understanding sentiment flow but not a direct catalyst. Walmart Is a Trending Stock (Zacks)
• Negative Sentiment: Legal/reputational risk: a California judge’s price‑fixing claims against Amazon included allegations that Amazon asked vendors to pressure retailers like Walmart to raise prices — any linkage to Walmart could create regulatory or PR headwinds even if Walmart is not a primary target. California says Amazon coerced companies into raising prices (Business Insider)
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: an EVP reported a roughly $362k stock sale — small dollar amount relative to Walmart’s market cap, but often noted by investors as a minor caution. Insider Selling: Walmart EVP Sells Stock

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, EVP Donna Morris sold 76,181 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.79, for a total value of $9,430,445.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 402,072 shares in the company, valued at $49,772,492.88. This trade represents a 15.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total value of $2,313,804.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 4,274,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $509,434,589.52. This represents a 0.45% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 263,376 shares of company stock worth $32,598,466 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.