Eastern Bank Lowers Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Eastern Bank cut its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 1.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,191,899 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 22,744 shares during the period. Walmart comprises about 2.2% of Eastern Bank's holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Eastern Bank's holdings in Walmart were worth $116,544,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Walmart by 0.8% in the first 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 during the period. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 397,264.9% in the second quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 104,514,912 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $10,496,702,000 after purchasing an additional 104,488,610 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Walmart by 30.1% during the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Walmart by 1.3% during the 1st 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 last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Walmart by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 29,188,142 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,562,427,000 after buying an additional 823,020 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WMT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Walmart from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on Walmart from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Mizuho reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Erste Group Bank raised Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $106.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Thirty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $112.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CTO Suresh Kumar sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.47, for a total value of $3,104,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 1,787,200 shares in the company, valued at $184,921,584. The trade was a 1.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.96, for a total value of $403,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 1,052,455 shares in the company, valued at $106,255,856.80. This trade represents a 0.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 151,232 shares of company stock worth $15,083,877. Insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Walmart Stock Up 0.1%

WMT opened at $101.86 on Friday. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $101.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $97.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.79. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $79.37 and a one year high of $106.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $812.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.80 and a beta of 0.67.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted its 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). Walmart had a return on equity of 21.45% and a net margin of 3.08%.The firm had revenue of $169.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $174.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.67 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Walmart has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.580-0.600 EPS. FY 2026 guidance at 2.520-2.620 EPS. Analysts anticipate 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.

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