Ninepoint Partners LP Takes Position in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Ninepoint Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 7,181 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $813,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position 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 valued at $49,015,626,000 after purchasing an additional 4,304,436 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in Walmart by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 184,805,978 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $19,046,104,000 after purchasing an additional 2,242,364 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in 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 buying an additional 6,517,394 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,458,529,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 40,626,852 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,526,238,000 after buying an additional 328,229 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, EVP David W. Guggina sold 11,978 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 125,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,985,527.94. This represents a 8.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, 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, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.63, for a total transaction of $2,303,320.08. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,174,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $495,230,306.77. This represents a 0.46% 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. Insiders sold 57,064 shares of company stock valued at $6,697,788 in the last ninety days. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the subject of several research reports. BTIG Research lowered their price objective on shares of Walmart from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Walmart from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $130.00 price target (down from $140.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.88.

Key Walmart News

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Unusually heavy call-option activity may indicate increased near-term bullish interest. Investors purchased 166,747 call options, about 33% above the typical daily volume. However, options activity is speculative and does not guarantee further gains.
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart is rolling out tap-to-pay and NFC capabilities across its U.S. stores and clubs. The move could improve checkout convenience, support mobile-wallet adoption and strengthen customer engagement as digital sales and membership become more important. Can Walmart’s Tap to Pay Push Strengthen Customer Engagement?
• Positive Sentiment: The company is introducing Scenario, a mostly sub-$25 fashion brand aimed at younger shoppers. Walmart hopes the offering will attract value-conscious consumers and improve its competitive position against Amazon in apparel. Walmart Aims to Take On Amazon With Trendier Apparel
• Neutral Sentiment: Walmart’s latest quarter exceeded expectations, with adjusted earnings of $0.81 per share versus roughly $0.74 expected and revenue of $187.94 billion, up 5.9% year over year. Full-year sales guidance was also raised to 4%-5%, but the outlook implies moderating growth.
• Negative Sentiment: U.S. comparable sales growth slowed to 2.6%, compared with 4.1% in the prior quarter and 4.6% a year earlier. Investors remain concerned that cautious consumers and uneven spending are pressuring traffic and discretionary purchases.
• Negative Sentiment: Several analysts reduced Walmart’s price targets or issued more cautious forecasts after the earnings report. Critics also argue that the stock remains expensive at roughly 36 times forward earnings despite decelerating growth, limiting upside.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WMT opened at $106.49 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The business has a 50-day moving average of $113.06 and a 200-day moving average of $121.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $847.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.44, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.61. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $95.42 and a fifty-two week high of $135.15.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The retailer reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $187.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $186.64 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.83% and a net margin of 3.00%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.68 earnings per share. Walmart has set its Q3 2027 guidance at 0.620-0.640 EPS and its FY 2027 guidance at 2.800-2.870 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.