Harris Associates L P Makes New Investment in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Key Points

• Harris Associates L P initiated a new investment in Walmart Inc. by acquiring 19,422 shares, valued at approximately $1.7 million, during the first quarter of 2023.
• Walmart's latest quarterly earnings report showed a missed EPS estimate of $0.68 against a consensus of $0.74, highlighting a revenue of $169.34 billion which also fell short of expectations.
• Several institutional investors have recently increased their stakes in Walmart, including Monument Capital Management, which boosted its holding by 94.2%, now owning a total of 55,004 shares.

Harris Associates L P acquired a new position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 19,422 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,705,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Full Sail Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Full Sail Capital LLC now owns 8,702 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $786,000 after purchasing an additional 541 shares during the last quarter. Ally Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the first quarter valued at approximately $2,107,000. Monument Capital Management boosted its stake in Walmart by 94.2% in the first quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 55,004 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,829,000 after acquiring an additional 26,685 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake 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 worth $698,787,000 after buying an additional 838,689 shares during the period. Finally, Milestone Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 156.7% during the first quarter. Milestone Asset Management LLC now owns 54,659 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,799,000 after purchasing an additional 33,370 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Walmart Stock Up 0.9%

Walmart stock opened at $96.97 on Monday. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.67 and a fifty-two week 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 $773.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.45, a P/E/G ratio of 4.66 and a beta of 0.65. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $98.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $95.29.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 21st. The retailer reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $169.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $174.02 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.45% and a net margin of 3.08%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.67 EPS. 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, analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.58, for a total value of $1,855,781.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 4,412,398 shares of the company's stock, valued at $421,737,000.84. The trade was a 0.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,655 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.38, for a total transaction of $166,128.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 647,578 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $65,003,879.64. The trade was a 0.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 99,766 shares of company stock valued at $9,640,873. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on WMT. Mizuho reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Telsey Advisory Group increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Walmart from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and issued a $117.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. One investment 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $110.59.

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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