Macquarie Group Ltd. raised its position in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT - Free Report) by 15.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 564,128 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 75,464 shares during the quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd.'s holdings in Walmart were worth $62,850,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Walmart by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 439,957,146 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $49,015,626,000 after purchasing an additional 4,304,436 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in Walmart by 1.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 184,805,978 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $19,046,104,000 after purchasing an additional 2,242,364 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Walmart by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 103,010,709 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $11,426,753,000 after purchasing an additional 6,517,394 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,458,529,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 40,626,852 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,526,238,000 after acquiring an additional 328,229 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
WMT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $120.00 price objective on Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Craig Hallum set a $150.00 price objective on Walmart in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $137.00 price objective (down from $140.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $145.00 price objective on Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $138.85.
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Walmart
Walmart Stock Performance
NASDAQ:WMT opened at $121.04 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $963.25 billion, a PE ratio of 42.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.50 and a beta of 0.59. The business's fifty day moving average price is $125.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $121.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.23. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $93.62 and a 12 month high of $135.15.
Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, meeting 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 for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.61 earnings per share. Walmart has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.750-2.850 EPS and its Q2 2027 guidance at 0.720-0.740 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Insider Transactions at Walmart
In related news, EVP Latriece Watkins sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.97, for a total value of $1,308,670.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 120,203 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,300,550.91. This represents a 8.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David W. Guggina sold 11,978 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.82, for a total value of $1,435,203.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 125,067 shares in the company, valued at $14,985,527.94. This trade represents a 8.74% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 128,986 shares of company stock valued at $15,927,908 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.
About Walmart
(
Free Report)
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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