Main Street Research LLC Increases Stake in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Main Street Research LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 1.9% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 344,869 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,474 shares during the quarter. Walmart accounts for 2.5% of Main Street Research LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest position. Main Street Research LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $42,860,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WMT. Merkkuri Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Walmart in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Entrust Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Beacon Financial Strategies CORP bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 57.4% during the fourth quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clayton Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 193.0% in the fourth quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC now owns 293 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 3,775 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.64, for a total value of $413,891.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 630,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,074,186.76. This represents a 0.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.84, for a total value of $1,638,525.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 674,162 shares in the company, valued at approximately $84,162,384.08. This trade represents a 1.91% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 104,505 shares of company stock worth $12,858,514. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Walmart Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:WMT traded up $1.69 on Friday, hitting $113.90. 12,452,368 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,901,888. The stock has a market capitalization of $906.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.18 and a beta of 0.60. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $94.23 and a 12 month high of $135.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $120.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $121.96.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $174.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.61 EPS. The firm’s 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. Analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

More Walmart News

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart is rolling out more wellness benefits at Sam’s Club, including Weight Watchers perks, which could deepen member loyalty, support renewals, and boost recurring membership revenue. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart is also getting attention for broad price cuts across groceries and household staples, which should help reinforce its reputation as a defensive, inflation-fighting retailer and drive traffic to stores and clubs. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Jim Cramer said Walmart is one of the “greatest companies on earth” and called the recent pullback an “incredible buying opportunity,” helping support sentiment around the stock. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary around Walmart’s health event and its AI shopping efforts highlights longer-term strategic investments, but these items are more thematic than immediate catalysts for the stock. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage comparing Walmart’s AI shopping race with Amazon underscores competitive pressure in retail tech, but it does not point to any near-term operational setback for Walmart. Article Title

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on WMT shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Walmart from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, May 22nd. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their price objective on Walmart from $147.00 to $146.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, UBS Group set a $141.00 target price on Walmart and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.85.

About Walmart

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.