Virtu Financial LLC Takes Position in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Key Points

• Virtu Financial LLC initiated a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter, buying 23,007 shares valued at about $2.56 million.
• Institutional interest in Walmart remains broad, with several other funds increasing holdings; overall, about 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
• Analysts remain generally positive on Walmart, giving it a Moderate Buy consensus with an average target price of $138.85, even as a few firms recently downgraded the stock to hold.

Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 23,007 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $2,563,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 28.8% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 98,150 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,868,000 after purchasing an additional 21,939 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its position 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 lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.5% in 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 last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.9% in 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 last quarter. Finally, Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its position in Walmart by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 91,341 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,931,000 after purchasing an additional 1,048 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $120.00 price objective on Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Walmart from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. HSBC lowered shares of Walmart from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $122.00 to $131.00 in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Craig Hallum set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, March 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $138.85.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT stock opened at $117.18 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $124.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $122.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $932.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.12, a P/E/G ratio of 4.37 and a beta of 0.59. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $94.23 and a fifty-two week high of $135.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.66. Walmart had a net margin of 3.13% and a return on equity of 21.25%. The firm had revenue of $177.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $174.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.61 earnings per share. Walmart's revenue for the quarter 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. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP David W. Guggina sold 11,978 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.82, for a total transaction of $1,435,203.96. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 125,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,985,527.94. This trade represents a 8.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.63, for a total transaction of $2,303,320.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,174,579 shares in the company, valued at approximately $495,230,306.77. This trade represents a 0.46% decrease in their position. 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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 117,246 shares of company stock worth $14,493,147. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Walmart 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.

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