Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Purchases 3,433,816 Shares of Walmart Inc. $WMT

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Walmart Inc. by 466.4% during the second quarter, now owning over 4 million shares valued at approximately $407.7 million.
• Multiple hedge funds have adjusted their positions in Walmart, with Brighton Jones LLC increasing its holdings by 28.8% and Vise Technologies Inc. by 30.8% in the same quarter.
• Walmart's recent quarterly earnings report showed $0.68 earnings per share, missing estimates, while total revenue was $169.34 billion, below the expected $174.02 billion.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 466.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,169,997 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 3,433,816 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.05% of Walmart worth $407,742,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of WMT. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 28.8% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 98,150 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,868,000 after acquiring an additional 21,939 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,849 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $800,000 after buying an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 34.9% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 66,900 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $6,044,000 after buying an additional 17,300 shares in the last quarter. Harmony Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $219,000. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 30.8% during the 4th quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 138,586 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $12,521,000 after buying an additional 32,665 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WMT. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Walmart from $101.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Walmart from $111.00 to $109.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Walmart from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Mizuho reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $106.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, August 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $112.03.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.97, for a total value of $1,863,353.52. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,392,985 shares in the company, valued at approximately $421,594,770.45. This trade represents a 0.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,610 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.71, for a total value of $166,973.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 645,968 shares in the company, valued at approximately $66,993,341.28. This represents a 0.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 134,107 shares of company stock worth $13,183,727. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Walmart Trading Up 0.5%

Walmart stock traded up $0.47 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $102.80. The company had a trading volume of 9,243,603 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,903,973. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $99.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $95.64. The firm has a market cap of $819.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.65, a P/E/G ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 0.65. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $78.98 and a 12-month high of $106.11.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 21st. The retailer reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $169.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $174.02 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.45% and a net margin of 3.08%.Walmart's revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.67 earnings per share. Walmart has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.580-0.600 EPS. FY 2026 guidance at 2.520-2.620 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Profile

Walmart Inc engages in the operation of retail, wholesale, other units, and eCommerce worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam's Club. It operates supercenters, supermarkets, hypermarkets, warehouse clubs, cash and carry stores, and discount stores under Walmart and Walmart Neighborhood Market brands; membership-only warehouse clubs; ecommerce websites, such as walmart.com.mx, walmart.ca, flipkart.com, PhonePe and other sites; and mobile commerce applications.