Valmark Advisers Inc. Boosts Position in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Valmark Advisers Inc. boosted its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 7.0% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 68,837 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,497 shares during the period. Valmark Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $8,555,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $6,458,529,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 188.1% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,663,172 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,199,907,000 after buying an additional 7,614,172 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 103,010,709 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $11,426,753,000 after acquiring an additional 6,517,394 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors bought a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at $592,848,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Walmart by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 439,957,146 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $49,015,626,000 after acquiring an additional 4,304,436 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT stock opened at $113.90 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $120.48 and a 200 day moving average of $122.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.23. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $94.23 and a 1-year high of $135.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $906.43 billion, a PE ratio of 39.97, a P/E/G ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.60.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.25% and a net margin of 3.13%.The business had revenue of $177.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $174.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.61 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. 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 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on WMT. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Tigress Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price objective (up from $150.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, May 29th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Walmart from $120.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.85.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Latriece Watkins sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.97, for a total transaction of $1,308,670.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 120,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,300,550.91. This represents a 8.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.84, for a total transaction of $1,638,525.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 104,505 shares of company stock valued at $12,858,514. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Walmart News Summary

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

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.