Fifth Third Bancorp Boosts Position in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Key Points

• Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its Walmart stake by 55.2% in the first quarter, buying over 1.3 million additional shares and bringing its holdings to 3.72 million shares valued at about $462.6 million.
• Several other institutional investors also adjusted their positions in Walmart, while about 26.76% of the stock is now held by hedge funds and other institutions.
• Walmart shares were up 1.5% to $113.90, and the company recently reported quarterly EPS in line with estimates, revenue above forecasts, and year-over-year revenue growth of 7.4%.

Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT - Free Report) by 55.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,721,898 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 1,324,007 shares during the period. Walmart comprises approximately 0.8% of Fifth Third Bancorp's investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Fifth Third Bancorp's holdings in Walmart were worth $462,558,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Merkkuri Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Walmart in the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Beacon Financial Strategies CORP purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 57.4% in the fourth quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clayton Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 193.0% in the 4th quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC now owns 293 shares of the retailer's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart is rolling out more wellness benefits at Sam’s Club, including Weight Watchers perks, which could deepen member loyalty, support renewals, and boost recurring membership revenue. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart is also getting attention for broad price cuts across groceries and household staples, which should help reinforce its reputation as a defensive, inflation-fighting retailer and drive traffic to stores and clubs. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Jim Cramer said Walmart is one of the “greatest companies on earth” and called the recent pullback an “incredible buying opportunity,” helping support sentiment around the stock. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary around Walmart’s health event and its AI shopping efforts highlights longer-term strategic investments, but these items are more thematic than immediate catalysts for the stock. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage comparing Walmart’s AI shopping race with Amazon underscores competitive pressure in retail tech, but it does not point to any near-term operational setback for Walmart. Article Title

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP David W. Guggina sold 11,978 shares of the business'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 owned 125,067 shares in the company, valued at $14,985,527.94. The trade was a 8.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 3,775 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.64, for a total transaction of $413,891.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 630,009 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $69,074,186.76. The trade was a 0.60% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 104,505 shares of company stock valued at $12,858,514. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Walmart Trading Up 1.5%

Walmart stock traded up $1.69 during trading on Friday, hitting $113.90. The company had a trading volume of 12,452,368 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,901,888. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock has a market cap of $906.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.60. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $94.23 and a 1-year high of $135.15. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $120.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $121.96.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate 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%.Walmart's revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior 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. As a group, analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on WMT. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Walmart from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Walmart from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $120.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $137.00 price target (up from $135.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Tigress Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $155.00 price objective (up from $150.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, May 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $138.85.

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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