Bollard Group LLC Sells 22,727 Shares of Walmart Inc. $WMT

Bollard Group LLC cut its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 7.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 284,657 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 22,727 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up 0.8% of Bollard Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Bollard Group LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $31,714,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the third quarter valued at $1,709,000. Vise Technologies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 42.1% in the fourth quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 275,341 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $30,676,000 after buying an additional 81,635 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 2.9% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,010,886 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $104,182,000 after buying an additional 28,026 shares in the last quarter. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at $40,855,000. Finally, Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 466.6% in the third quarter. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners now owns 13,343 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,375,000 after buying an additional 10,988 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.92, for a total transaction of $359,368.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 577,853 shares in the company, valued at approximately $71,607,543.76. The trade was a 0.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Latriece Watkins sold 11,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.97, for a total value of $1,308,670.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 120,203 shares in the company, valued at $14,300,550.91. This trade represents a 8.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 128,986 shares of company stock worth $15,927,908. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Walmart Price Performance

Walmart stock opened at $121.04 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $963.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.47, a PEG ratio of 4.52 and a beta of 0.59. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $93.62 and a 1 year high of $135.15. The business has a 50-day moving average of $125.28 and a 200-day moving average of $121.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.66. The company had revenue of $177.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $174.84 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.25% and a net margin of 3.13%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.61 EPS. 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, equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WMT. Truist Financial set a $140.00 target price on Walmart in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Freedom Capital upgraded Walmart from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Bank of America initiated coverage on Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $150.00 price objective for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $120.00 price objective on Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective (up from $145.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.85.

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.