Renaissance Technologies LLC Cuts Stake in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Key Points

• Renaissance Technologies cut its Walmart stake by 97% in the first quarter, selling 300,037 shares and retaining 9,223 shares worth approximately $1.15 million.
• Other major institutional investors, including Vanguard, State Street and Geode Capital, increased their Walmart holdings; institutional investors collectively own 26.76% of the stock.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $138.56 price target. Walmart’s fiscal 2027 second-quarter earnings report on August 20 is the next major catalyst, though margin pressure, shipping costs and competition from Amazon remain risks.

Renaissance Technologies LLC reduced its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT - Free Report) by 97.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,223 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 300,037 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $1,147,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Walmart by 1.0% during the 4th 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 last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 184,805,978 shares of the retailer's stock worth $19,046,104,000 after purchasing an additional 2,242,364 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 6.8% during 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at $6,458,529,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted 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 valued at $4,526,238,000 after buying an additional 328,229 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart’s e-commerce business is increasingly developing into a broader commerce platform, supported by digital sales growth and a flywheel connecting stores, delivery, advertising and marketplace services. This strengthens the long-term growth case beyond its traditional big-box retail operations. Walmart’s E-Commerce Engine Roars
• Positive Sentiment: RBC reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $137 price target, implying meaningful upside from recent trading levels. Bank of America also said Walmart could return to a “beat-and-raise” pattern in the upcoming quarter, despite softer spending among lower-income consumers. Walmart Could Return to Its Beat-and-Raise Playbook
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart will report fiscal 2027 second-quarter results before the market opens on August 20, followed by a conference call with CEO John Furner and CFO John David Rainey. The event is the next major catalyst for the shares. Walmart to Host Second-Quarter Earnings Conference Call
• Neutral Sentiment: Shipping disruptions, capacity constraints and higher freight prices could affect Walmart’s inventory costs and merchandise availability, although the company’s scale and supply-chain capabilities may provide some protection. Shipping’s Rough Seas
• Negative Sentiment: Amazon’s efforts to let Alexa identify household grocery needs and automatically create shopping lists highlight a competitive threat to Walmart’s customer relationship. If consumers begin their shopping journeys through AI assistants, Walmart could lose traffic, data and potential marketplace sales. Amazon Wants Alexa to Own the Shopping List
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts at RBC reportedly expect Walmart and other major U.S. retailers to potentially miss second-quarter comparable-sales estimates. Separate commentary flags rising costs, margin pressure and an expensive valuation, while earnings estimates have also been reduced by Erste Group analysts. Big-Box Retailers May Miss Comparable-Sales Expectations

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $150.00 target price (up from $145.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $142.00 price target on shares of Walmart and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Walmart from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating and set a $145.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $138.56.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.19, for a total value of $342,751.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 574,953 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $67,953,695.07. This trade represents a 0.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 3,710 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.10, for a total value of $419,601.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 626,299 shares in the company, valued at $70,834,416.90. This trade represents a 0.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 70,189 shares of company stock worth $8,377,320 over the last three months. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Walmart Stock Down 0.2%

WMT stock opened at $115.72 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average is $114.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $121.56. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $95.42 and a fifty-two week high of $135.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.77. The company has a market cap of $920.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.60, a P/E/G ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.61.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.66. Walmart had a net margin of 3.13% and a return on equity of 21.25%. The company had revenue of $177.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $174.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.61 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. 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, analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Company Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source