Rep. Bruce Westerman Sells Off Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Representative Bruce Westerman (R-Arkansas) recently sold shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT). In a filing disclosed on April 16th, the Representative disclosed that they had sold between $1,001 and $15,000 in Walmart stock on March 20th. The trade occurred in the Representative’s “FISHER IRA” account.

Representative Bruce Westerman also recently made the following trade(s):

• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of LVMH Moët Hennessy – Louis Vuitton, Société Européenne (OTCMKTS:LVMUY) on 4/2/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Sony Group (NYSE:SONY) on 3/24/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (NYSE:MUFG) on 3/21/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of BP (NYSE:BP) on 3/21/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) on 3/20/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) on 3/20/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) on 3/20/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Visa (NYSE:V) on 3/20/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) on 3/20/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) on 3/20/2025.

Walmart Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $93.17 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $58.56 and a 52-week high of $105.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $746.93 billion, a PE ratio of 38.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $91.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $90.26.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. On average, analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. KeyCorp raised their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.58.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,760 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.82, for a total transaction of $166,883.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 520,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,332,475.50. This represents a 0.34 % 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 John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total transaction of $3,754,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 257,281 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,419,362.80. The trade was a 12.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 178,782 shares of company stock worth $16,785,305 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 2,050,683 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 90,635,238 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,167,186,000 after purchasing an additional 3,017,829 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $5,737,355,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 48,793,045 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,408,452,000 after purchasing an additional 1,133,201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of 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 period. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

About Representative Westerman

Bruce Westerman (Republican Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing Arkansas’ 4th Congressional District. He assumed office on January 3, 2015. His current term ends on January 3, 2027.

Westerman (Republican Party) is running for re-election to the U.S. House to represent Arkansas’ 4th Congressional District. He declared candidacy for the 2026 election.

Westerman earned his BSBAGE in biological and agricultural engineering from the University of Arkansas in 1990 and his MF in forestry from Yale University in 2001. His professional experience includes working as a plant engineer for Riceland Foods and an engineer/forester for Mid-South Engineering Company.

About Walmart

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.