Gotham Asset Management LLC Purchases 20,466 Shares of Walmart Inc. $WMT

Key Points

• Gotham Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Walmart Inc. by 11.8% during the 1st quarter, acquiring an additional 20,466 shares, bringing its total holdings to 193,896 shares valued at approximately $17 million.
• In the same period, several other institutional investors significantly expanded their holdings in Walmart, with Nuveen LLC acquiring a stake worth over $2.5 billion, while Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board grew its position by nearly 28,685%.
• Walmart's latest earnings report showed earnings per share of $0.68, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74, with revenues falling short of expectations at $169.34 billion compared to a forecast of $174.02 billion.

Gotham Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 11.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 193,896 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 20,466 shares during the quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $17,022,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,532,331,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 9,896.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,939,728 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $697,029,000 after buying an additional 7,860,306 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted 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 valued at $2,922,770,000 after acquiring an additional 7,706,201 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Walmart by 527.1% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,739,038 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $591,620,000 after acquiring an additional 5,664,484 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board grew its holdings in Walmart by 28,684.8% during the 1st quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 4,229,354 shares of the retailer's stock worth $371,295,000 after acquiring an additional 4,214,661 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.55, for a total transaction of $1,293,468.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 919,189 shares in the company, valued at $90,586,075.95. This trade represents a 1.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.97, for a total transaction of $1,863,353.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,392,985 shares in the company, 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. Insiders have sold 121,382 shares of company stock valued at $11,718,441 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WMT. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Walmart from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Walmart from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group upped their price target on Walmart from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $110.76.

Walmart Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE WMT opened at $100.45 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $76.30 and a one year high of $105.30. 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 firm has a market cap of $800.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.76, a P/E/G ratio of 4.85 and a beta of 0.65. The stock's 50-day moving average is $98.29 and its 200-day moving average is $95.24.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 21st. The retailer reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $169.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $174.02 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 3.08% and a return on equity of 21.45%. Walmart's revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $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. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.

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