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Walmart Inc. $WMT Shares Acquired by Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund

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Key Points

  • Fjarde AP Fonden boosted its Walmart stake by 60.5% in the first quarter, buying 664,250 additional shares and bringing its total to 1,762,821 shares worth about $219.1 million.
  • Institutional ownership in Walmart remains heavy, with major funds like Vanguard, State Street, and Geode also adding to positions; overall, 26.76% of the stock is held by institutional investors and hedge funds.
  • Wall Street remains broadly positive on Walmart, with multiple analysts reiterating buy-equivalent ratings and a consensus price target of $138.85, even as insiders made recent stock sales under pre-arranged trading plans.
  • Five stocks we like better than Walmart.

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lifted its stake in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT - Free Report) by 60.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,762,821 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 664,250 shares during the period. Walmart makes up 1.2% of Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund's investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund's holdings in Walmart were worth $219,083,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 439,957,146 shares of the retailer's stock worth $49,015,626,000 after purchasing an additional 4,304,436 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 184,805,978 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $19,046,104,000 after purchasing an additional 2,242,364 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 6.8% in the 4th 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 during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $6,458,529,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 40,626,852 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,526,238,000 after purchasing an additional 328,229 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Walmart from $120.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $137.00 target price (down from $140.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial set a $140.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $138.85.

Read Our Latest Report on Walmart

Insider Activity

In other Walmart news, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 0.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through 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 the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director owned 4,174,579 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $495,230,306.77. The trade was 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 quarter, insiders sold 104,505 shares of company stock valued at $12,858,514. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Trending Headlines about Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

  • Positive Sentiment: Walmart is being viewed as a defensive winner in a cautious consumer environment, with commentary pointing to resilient grocery spending, strong omnichannel execution, and growth in advertising and membership revenue as reasons the stock could grind higher. Article Title
  • Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain broadly constructive on Walmart, and new commentary highlighted strong interest in the company’s Google AI partnership for “agentic shopping,” which could support future digital commerce growth and ecosystem monetization. Article Title
  • Positive Sentiment: Unusual options activity showed bullish positioning, with traders buying far more WMT call options than usual, suggesting some investors are betting on a rebound. Article Title
  • Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street continues to rate Walmart favorably overall, with several firms reiterating buy-equivalent ratings and an average price target above current levels, though not enough to fully offset recent valuation concerns.
  • Negative Sentiment: Investor concern remains over slowing U.S. comparable sales and the company’s reliance on price cuts and tariff refunds to manage inventory, which could pressure margins if the trend continues. Article Title
  • Negative Sentiment: Walmart EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 3,775 shares in a pre-arranged 10b5-1 transaction, a routine filing but still a small negative sentiment item for traders. Article Title

Walmart Price Performance

WMT opened at $111.84 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $122.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $122.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a market cap of $890.03 billion, a PE ratio of 39.24, a P/E/G ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 0.60. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $94.23 and a 52 week high of $135.15.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.66. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.25% and a net margin of 3.13%.The company had revenue of $177.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $174.84 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.61 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. 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, research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WMT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT - Free Report).

Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT)

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.

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