Lynch Investment Planning LLC Takes Position in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Lynch Investment Planning LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 4,811 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $537,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Walmart by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 439,957,146 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $49,015,626,000 after buying an additional 4,304,436 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 2,242,364 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 103,010,709 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $11,426,753,000 after buying an additional 6,517,394 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth approximately $6,458,529,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 40,626,852 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,526,238,000 after buying an additional 328,229 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WMT opened at $117.18 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $124.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $122.04. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $94.23 and a 52-week high of $135.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $932.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.12, a P/E/G ratio of 4.37 and a beta of 0.59.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.66. The company had revenue of $177.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $174.84 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.25% and a net margin of 3.13%.The business’s revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.61 earnings per share. 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 forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, April 20th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $145.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, June 8th. DA Davidson set a $150.00 target price on Walmart and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, May 22nd. One equities research 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.85.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was 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 directly owned 577,853 shares in the company, valued at $71,607,543.76. This represents a 0.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.16, for a total value of $2,391,274.56. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,213,406 shares in the company, valued at $518,923,082.96. This represents a 0.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 117,246 shares of company stock worth $14,493,147. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.