Walmart Inc. $WMT Shares Sold by Sovran Advisors LLC

Sovran Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 30.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 24,948 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 10,909 shares during the period. Sovran Advisors LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $3,291,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.0% in 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 in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.2% in the third 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 period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 103,010,709 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $11,426,753,000 after buying an additional 6,517,394 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at about $6,458,529,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 40,626,852 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,526,238,000 after acquiring an additional 328,229 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the topic of several research reports. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their price target on shares of Walmart from $147.00 to $146.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $120.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective (up from $145.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $137.00 target price (up from $135.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued 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 given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.85.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP David W. Guggina sold 11,978 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.82, for a total transaction of $1,435,203.96. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 125,067 shares in the company, valued at $14,985,527.94. The trade was a 8.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Latriece Watkins sold 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.97, for a total transaction of $1,308,670.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 120,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,300,550.91. This represents a 8.38% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 104,505 shares of company stock valued at $12,858,514 over the last 90 days. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ WMT traded up $1.69 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $113.90. 12,452,368 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,901,888. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. 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 price-to-earnings ratio of 39.97, a PEG ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.60. The business has a 50 day moving average of $120.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $121.96.

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

Key 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

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.