Milford Funds Ltd. Buys New Shares in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Milford Funds Ltd. bought a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 199,263 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $22,200,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Entrust Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Beacon Financial Strategies CORP bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 57.4% in the fourth quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Finally, Clayton Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 193.0% in the fourth quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC now owns 293 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WMT opened at $121.04 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $93.62 and a 1 year high of $135.15. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $125.28 and a 200-day moving average of $121.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $963.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.50 and a beta of 0.59.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66. Walmart had a net margin of 3.13% and a return on equity of 21.25%. The company had revenue of $177.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $174.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.61 earnings per share. Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Walmart has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.750-2.850 EPS and its Q2 2027 guidance at 0.720-0.740 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMT has been the subject of several research reports. Argus upgraded shares of Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $137.00 target price (down from $140.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price target (up from $150.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $150.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and set a $138.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $138.85.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.63, for a total value of $2,303,320.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,174,579 shares in the company, valued at approximately $495,230,306.77. The trade was a 0.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.92, for a total transaction of $359,368.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 577,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $71,607,543.76. This trade represents a 0.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 128,986 shares of company stock valued at $15,927,908 in the last ninety days. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.