Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI Lowers Holdings in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Key Points

• Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI reduced its stake in Walmart Inc. by 30.7% in Q1, now holding 1,916,295 shares valued at approximately $168.2 million.
• Walmart's Q2 earnings fell short of expectations, reporting $0.68 EPS and revenue of $169.34 billion against a consensus estimate of $174.02 billion.
• Analysts favor Walmart, with an average target price of $110.76, as many brokerages maintain "buy" ratings following recent reports.

Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI trimmed its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 30.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,916,295 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 850,771 shares during the period. Walmart comprises 1.4% of Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI's investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI's holdings in Walmart were worth $168,232,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Night Squared LP purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,052,000. Monument Capital Management raised its position in Walmart by 94.2% in the 1st quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 55,004 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,829,000 after purchasing an additional 26,685 shares during the last quarter. Ally Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart in the 1st quarter valued at about $2,107,000. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 34.6% in the 1st quarter. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management now owns 38,213 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,355,000 after purchasing an additional 9,831 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 11.8% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 7,959,752 shares of the retailer's stock worth $698,787,000 after purchasing an additional 838,689 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.97, for a total transaction of $1,863,353.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,392,985 shares of the company's stock, valued at $421,594,770.45. This represents a 0.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.96, for a total transaction of $403,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 1,052,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at $106,255,856.80. This represents a 0.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 121,382 shares of company stock valued at $11,718,441. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT stock opened at $102.26 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $815.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.44, a PEG ratio of 4.83 and a beta of 0.65. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $76.49 and a 12 month high of $105.30. The business's 50-day moving average price is $98.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $95.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 21st. The retailer reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.06). Walmart had a return on equity of 21.45% and a net margin of 3.08%.The firm had revenue of $169.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $174.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.67 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WMT. Evercore ISI reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $110.00 target price (up from $108.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Walmart from $111.00 to $109.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $117.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on Walmart from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $110.76.

Walmart 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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