Panagora Asset Management Inc. Sells 697,372 Shares of Walmart Inc. $WMT

Key Points

• Panagora Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in Walmart Inc. by 21.8%, selling 697,372 shares and now holding a total of 2,506,365 shares valued at approximately $220 million.
• Vanguard Group and Goldman Sachs increased their positions in Walmart by 0.8% and 30.1% respectively, with Vanguard now owning over 425 million shares worth nearly $37.4 billion.
• Walmart's latest earnings report showed a miss on earnings per share at $0.68, falling short of the expected $0.74, with quarterly revenue recorded at $169.34 billion.

Panagora Asset Management Inc. lowered its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 21.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,506,365 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 697,372 shares during the period. Walmart makes up 1.1% of Panagora Asset Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Panagora Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Walmart were worth $220,034,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Walmart by 0.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 425,961,042 shares of the retailer's stock worth $37,395,120,000 after purchasing an additional 3,224,154 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Walmart by 30.1% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 33,292,749 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,922,770,000 after purchasing an additional 7,706,201 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Walmart by 1.3% in the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 30,874,987 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,710,665,000 after purchasing an additional 387,424 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 29,843,892 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,696,396,000 after purchasing an additional 233,040 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Walmart by 2.9% in the first 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. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.24, for a total value of $380,960.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 1,060,455 shares in the company, valued at $100,997,734.20. This represents a 0.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.14, for a total value of $1,248,712.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 932,313 shares in the company, valued at $88,700,258.82. The trade was a 1.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 101,966 shares of company stock valued at $9,858,673 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on WMT shares. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $117.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on Walmart from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Walmart from $111.00 to $109.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Robert W. Baird lifted 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. Finally, Evercore ISI reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $110.00 target price (up previously from $108.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, August 18th. One equities 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $110.59.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE:WMT opened at $96.97 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $773.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.62 and a beta of 0.66. 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 stock's 50-day moving average is $98.12 and its 200-day moving average is $95.42. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.67 and a 1-year high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 the consensus estimate of $174.02 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.45% and a net margin of 3.08%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last 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. Equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Company 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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