Banco Santander S.A. Sells 40,398 Shares of Walmart Inc. $WMT

Key Points

• Banco Santander S.A. reduced its Walmart stake by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 40,398 shares and ending with 812,706 shares worth about $90.5 million.
• Institutional ownership in Walmart remains substantial, with firms like Vanguard, State Street, Geode Capital, and Norges Bank holding large positions; overall, institutional investors own 26.76% of the stock.
• Walmart reported quarterly EPS of $0.66, matching estimates, while revenue of $177.75 billion beat expectations; analysts remain largely bullish with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $138.85.

Banco Santander S.A. trimmed its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT - Free Report) by 4.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 812,706 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 40,398 shares during the period. Walmart makes up approximately 0.7% of Banco Santander S.A.'s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Banco Santander S.A.'s holdings in Walmart were worth $90,544,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Walmart by 1.0% during 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 period. State Street Corp increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 2,242,364 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 6.8% in 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 acquiring an additional 6,517,394 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $6,458,529,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased 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 acquiring an additional 328,229 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, CEO John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.96, for a total value of $1,600,725.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 687,287 shares in the company, valued at approximately $83,821,522.52. This trade represents a 1.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David W. Guggina sold 11,978 shares of the firm'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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 125,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,985,527.94. The trade was a 8.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 128,986 shares of company stock worth $15,927,908. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. UBS Group set a $141.00 target price on shares of Walmart and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Tigress Financial reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $155.00 target price (up from $150.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Wolfe Research reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $137.00 target price (up from $135.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $140.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $138.85.

Walmart Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of WMT opened at $121.04 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $963.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.47, a PEG ratio of 4.50 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.77. The business's fifty day moving average price is $125.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $121.66. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $93.62 and a 52 week high of $135.15.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.66. The firm had revenue of $177.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $174.84 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.25% and a net margin of 3.13%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $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, analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

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.

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