DnB Asset Management AS Purchases 380,720 Shares of Walmart Inc. $WMT

Key Points

• DnB Asset Management AS increased its position in Walmart Inc. shares by 25.7%, owning a total of 1,862,737 shares valued at approximately $163.5 million after purchasing 380,720 additional shares.
• Walmart recently received positive sentiment from analysts, with price targets raised by several firms, leading to a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $110.76.
• Walmart's latest quarterly earnings fell short of analyst expectations with earnings per share of $0.68, against consensus estimates of $0.74, highlighting a revenue of $169.34 billion, also below anticipated figures.

DnB Asset Management AS increased its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 25.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,862,737 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 380,720 shares during the period. Walmart comprises approximately 0.8% of DnB Asset Management AS's holdings, making the stock its 26th largest holding. DnB Asset Management AS's holdings in Walmart were worth $163,530,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 425,961,042 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $37,395,120,000 after purchasing an additional 3,224,154 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Walmart by 30.1% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 33,292,749 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,922,770,000 after buying an additional 7,706,201 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Walmart by 1.3% during the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 30,874,987 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,710,665,000 after buying an additional 387,424 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 29,843,892 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,696,396,000 after acquiring an additional 233,040 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Walmart by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 29,188,142 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,562,427,000 after acquiring an additional 823,020 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $110.00 price target (up from $108.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $101.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $117.00 price objective on shares of Walmart and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $110.76.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.55, for a total value of $1,293,468.75. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 919,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $90,586,075.95. This represents a 1.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.97, for a total transaction of $1,863,353.52. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,392,985 shares of the company's stock, valued at $421,594,770.45. This represents a 0.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 121,382 shares of company stock worth $11,718,441. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $99.30 on Thursday. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $98.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $95.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $792.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.33, a PEG ratio of 4.66 and a beta of 0.65. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $76.30 and a 12-month high of $105.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 21st. The retailer reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $169.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $174.02 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 3.08% and a return on equity of 21.45%. Walmart's quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. Analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Company 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.