Hancock Whitney Corp Acquires 54,692 Shares of Walmart Inc. $WMT

Key Points

• Hancock Whitney Corp has increased its stake in Walmart Inc. by 31.6%, acquiring an additional 54,692 shares during the 1st quarter, now holding a total of 227,652 shares worth $19.986 million.
• Walmart reported $0.68 earnings per share for the last quarter, missing consensus estimates of $0.74, with revenues of $169.34 billion, below expectations of $174.02 billion.
• Analysts have given Walmart a consensus rating of "Buy" with an average price target of $110.76, reflecting a positive long-term outlook despite recent earnings misses.

Hancock Whitney Corp grew its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 31.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 227,652 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 54,692 shares during the quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp's holdings in Walmart were worth $19,986,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WMT. Full Sail Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Full Sail Capital LLC now owns 8,702 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $786,000 after buying an additional 541 shares during the period. Ally Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,107,000. Monument Capital Management lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 94.2% in the 1st quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 55,004 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,829,000 after acquiring an additional 26,685 shares during the period. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 34.6% during the 1st quarter. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management now owns 38,213 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,355,000 after purchasing an additional 9,831 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Walmart by 11.8% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 7,959,752 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $698,787,000 after purchasing an additional 838,689 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Walmart Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $99.30 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market cap of $792.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.33, a P/E/G 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's 50-day moving average price is $98.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $95.29.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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). Walmart had a return on equity of 21.45% and a net margin of 3.08%.The company had revenue of $169.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $174.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.67 earnings per share. The company's revenue 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. As a group, research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.96, for a total transaction of $403,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 1,052,455 shares in the company, valued at $106,255,856.80. The trade was a 0.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.55, for a total value of $1,293,468.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 919,189 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $90,586,075.95. The trade was a 1.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 121,382 shares of company stock worth $11,718,441. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Telsey Advisory Group raised their target price on Walmart from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Mizuho reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Walmart from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $110.76.

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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