MML Investors Services LLC Grows Position in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Key Points

• MML Investors Services LLC increased its Walmart stake by 7.0% in the fourth quarter, adding 76,280 shares and bringing its total holdings to 1,173,324 shares worth about $130.7 million.
• Walmart posted solid quarterly results, with EPS of $0.66 matching estimates and revenue of $177.75 billion, topping expectations and rising 7.4% year over year.
• Wall Street remains broadly bullish on Walmart, with an average “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $138.85, even as some insiders recently sold shares.

MML Investors Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT - Free Report) by 7.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,173,324 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 76,280 shares during the quarter. MML Investors Services LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $130,720,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WMT. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 28.8% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 98,150 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,868,000 after purchasing an additional 21,939 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,849 shares of the retailer's stock worth $800,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the period. Peterson Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Peterson Wealth Management now owns 50,307 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,416,000 after purchasing an additional 1,715 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 13,008 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,272,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Finally, Schnieders Capital Management LLC. grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 91,341 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,931,000 after purchasing an additional 1,048 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $121.04 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $125.28 and a 200 day moving average of $121.78. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $93.62 and a 12 month high of $135.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $963.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.52 and a beta of 0.60. 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 (NASDAQ:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.66. The company had revenue of $177.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.61 EPS. Walmart has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.750-2.850 EPS and its Q2 2027 guidance at 0.720-0.740 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WMT. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Walmart from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and set a $150.00 target price (up from $145.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, May 7th. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Wolfe Research restated an "outperform" rating and set a $137.00 target price (up from $135.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Tigress Financial restated a "buy" rating and set a $155.00 target price (up from $150.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, May 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $138.85.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, CEO John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.08, for a total value of $1,628,550.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 661,037 shares of the company's stock, valued at $82,021,470.96. This trade represents a 1.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Latriece Watkins sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.97, for a total value of $1,308,670.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 120,203 shares in the company, valued at $14,300,550.91. This represents a 8.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 128,986 shares of company stock worth $15,927,908 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

About Walmart

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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