IFM Investors Pty Ltd Purchases 31,347 Shares of Walmart Inc. $WMT

Key Points

• IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its stake in Walmart Inc. by 3.9%, acquiring an additional 31,347 shares in the second quarter, bringing its total to 829,310 shares valued at approximately $81 million.
• Other institutional investors, such as Vanguard Group Inc. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., have also enhanced their holdings in Walmart, contributing to a total of 26.76% of the company's stock owned by institutional investors.
• Walmart's recent quarterly earnings fell short of expectations, reporting $0.68 EPS against a consensus estimate of $0.74, with a revenue of $169.34 billion, below the projected $174.02 billion.

IFM Investors Pty Ltd boosted its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 3.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 829,310 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 31,347 shares during the period. Walmart comprises 0.8% of IFM Investors Pty Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. IFM Investors Pty Ltd's holdings in Walmart were worth $81,090,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Walmart by 0.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 425,961,042 shares of the retailer's stock worth $37,395,120,000 after acquiring an additional 3,224,154 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Walmart by 30.1% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 33,292,749 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,922,770,000 after purchasing an additional 7,706,201 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Walmart by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 30,874,987 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,710,665,000 after purchasing an additional 387,424 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 823,020 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 1st quarter worth about $2,532,331,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,610 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.71, for a total transaction of $166,973.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 645,968 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $66,993,341.28. This represents a 0.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 28th. The stock was 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 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 134,107 shares of company stock valued at $13,183,727. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Walmart Trading Down 1.2%

NYSE:WMT opened at $102.40 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $78.11 and a 1 year high of $106.11. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $99.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $95.64. 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 company has a market cap of $816.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.50, a P/E/G ratio of 4.88 and a beta of 0.65.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on WMT shares. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $106.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group upped their price objective on Walmart from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Walmart from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $117.00 target price on Walmart and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $112.03.

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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