Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC Has $1.43 Million Stake in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 81.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,861 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 60,936 shares during the quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,429,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Walmart in the 2nd quarter valued at $5,367,770,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 9,648.7% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,486,374 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,123,138,000 after buying an additional 11,368,549 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.4% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 431,817,510 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $42,223,116,000 after acquiring an additional 5,856,468 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its position in Walmart by 23.5% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 19,493,644 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,902,775,000 after acquiring an additional 3,710,506 shares during the period. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new stake in Walmart in the 2nd quarter worth about $273,784,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.99, for a total value of $1,574,868.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 727,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $87,251,328.45. This represents a 1.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, 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 in the company, valued at approximately $65,082,852. The trade was a 6.01% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 279,703 shares of company stock worth $34,140,843 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $145.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Walmart from $127.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $140.00 price target (up from $125.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Tigress Financial set a $150.00 price objective on Walmart and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $135.76.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $125.12 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company has a market cap of $997.23 billion, a PE ratio of 45.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.63 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a 50 day moving average of $122.37 and a 200-day moving average of $111.44. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $79.81 and a 1-year high of $134.69.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The retailer reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.01. Walmart had a net margin of 3.07% and a return on equity of 21.44%. The business had revenue of $190.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $188.37 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.66 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly 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. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 11th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.31%.

Walmart Company 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.