Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co Sells 6,218 Shares of Walmart Inc. $WMT

Key Points

• Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co reduced its stake in Walmart by 2.3%, selling 6,218 shares and holding a total of 268,008 shares valued at approximately $23.5 million.
• Walmart reported a Q2 earnings miss with an EPS of $0.68, below estimates of $0.74, and revenue of $169.34 billion, falling short of expectations.
• Walmart's stock has received several upgrades from analysts, including a price target increase to $114 from Goldman Sachs and a consensus rating of "Buy".

Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co reduced its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 2.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 268,008 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 6,218 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for approximately 0.5% of Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co's holdings in Walmart were worth $23,528,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Operose Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 319.7% in the 1st quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 319 shares of the retailer's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. raised its position in shares of Walmart by 98.2% in the 1st quarter. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. now owns 337 shares of the retailer's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd raised its position in shares of Walmart by 432.4% in the 1st quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 362 shares of the retailer's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Lipe & Dalton raised its position in shares of Walmart by 95.2% in the 1st quarter. Lipe & Dalton now owns 410 shares of the retailer's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Price Performance

Walmart stock opened at $100.45 on Monday. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $76.30 and a 12 month high of $105.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $98.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $95.17. The company has a market cap of $800.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.76, a PEG ratio of 4.83 and a beta of 0.65.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,392,985 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $421,594,770.45. This trade represents a 0.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at $106,255,856.80. This trade represents a 0.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 121,382 shares of company stock valued at $11,718,441 in the last ninety days. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on WMT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Walmart from $101.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on Walmart from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Walmart from $111.00 to $109.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $110.76.

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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