Avantax Planning Partners Inc. Sells 2,961 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

04 Jul 2025, 16:14 by Tristan Rich · The Markets Daily

Avantax Planning Partners Inc. lowered its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT – Free Report) by 8.6% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 31,572 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 2,961 shares during the period. Avantax Planning Partners Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $2,772,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Walmart by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 422,736,888 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $38,194,278,000 after purchasing an additional 2,050,683 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 90,635,238 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,167,186,000 after buying an additional 3,017,829 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $5,737,355,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Walmart by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,943,049,000 after buying an additional 3,550,037 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Walmart by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 42,015,818 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,796,129,000 after acquiring an additional 514,036 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.19, for a total value of $1,887,041.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,431,783 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $430,724,989.77. This trade represents a 0.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.85, for a total value of $1,258,031.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 945,434 shares in the company, valued at approximately $90,619,848.90. This represents a 1.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 142,711 shares of company stock valued at $13,710,319. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Up 0.7%

WMT stock opened at $98.29 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $66.67 and a 52 week high of $105.30. The company has a market capitalization of $784.40 billion, a PE ratio of 42.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.70 and a beta of 0.68. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $97.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $94.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.78.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $164.53 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.76% and a net margin of 2.75%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.95%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is 40.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on WMT shares. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, May 5th. Mizuho upped their target price on Walmart from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $106.67.

Check Out Our Latest Report on WMT

About Walmart

(Free Report)

Walmart Inc engages in the operation of retail, wholesale, other units, and eCommerce worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam's Club. It operates supercenters, supermarkets, hypermarkets, warehouse clubs, cash and carry stores, and discount stores under Walmart and Walmart Neighborhood Market brands; membership-only warehouse clubs; ecommerce websites, such as walmart.com.mx, walmart.ca, flipkart.com, PhonePe and other sites; and mobile commerce applications.