Knollwood Investment Advisory LLC Trims Stock Position in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Knollwood Investment Advisory LLC reduced its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 48.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 7,315 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 6,904 shares during the quarter. Knollwood Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $815,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position 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 period. State Street Corp grew its position 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 worth $19,046,104,000 after buying an additional 2,242,364 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew 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 worth $11,426,753,000 after buying an additional 6,517,394 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth about $6,458,529,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew 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 worth $4,526,238,000 after buying an additional 328,229 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT stock opened at $121.04 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $93.62 and a one year high of $135.15. The company’s 50-day moving average is $125.28 and its 200 day moving average is $121.66. The company has a market capitalization of $963.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.52 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.77.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.66. The company had revenue of $177.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $174.84 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 3.13% and a return on equity of 21.25%. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $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. Sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WMT. Telsey Advisory Group upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Craig Hallum set a $150.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $150.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, March 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $138.85.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, CEO John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.96, for a total transaction of $1,600,725.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 687,287 shares in the company, valued at approximately $83,821,522.52. This represents a 1.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Latriece Watkins sold 11,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.97, for a total transaction 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 represents a 8.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 128,986 shares of company stock worth $15,927,908. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Walmart

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.