Patton Fund Management Inc. Purchases Shares of 2,556 Walmart Inc. $WMT

Key Points

• Patton Fund Management Inc. acquired 2,556 shares of Walmart Inc. valued at approximately $250,000 during the second quarter, indicating increased institutional interest in the retailer.
• Analysts have generally given Walmart a "Moderate Buy" rating, with a consensus price target of $112.38, reflecting confidence in the company's performance despite a recent earnings miss.
• Walmart's stock has shown fluctuations, with a 1-year low of $78.98 and a high of $106.11, illustrating a volatile market positioning amidst various hedge fund activities.

Patton Fund Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,556 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $250,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WMT. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Walmart by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 425,961,042 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $37,395,120,000 after purchasing an additional 3,224,154 shares during the last quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 397,264.9% in the 2nd quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 104,514,912 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $10,496,702,000 after purchasing an additional 104,488,610 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Walmart by 30.1% in 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. raised its position in shares of Walmart by 1.3% in 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. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Walmart by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 29,188,142 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,562,427,000 after purchasing an additional 823,020 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $110.00 price objective (up from $108.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price objective (up from $112.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $111.00 to $109.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $106.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Twenty-nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $112.38.

Walmart Price Performance

NYSE:WMT opened at $103.14 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $822.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $100.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $96.11. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $78.98 and a 1-year high of $106.11.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 analysts' expectations of $174.02 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 3.08% and a return on equity of 21.45%. Walmart's revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $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 forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.96, for a total value 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 approximately $106,255,856.80. The trade was a 0.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 4,392,985 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $421,594,770.45. The trade was a 0.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 151,232 shares of company stock valued at $15,077,519 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

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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