Empowered Funds LLC Has $50.95 Million Stock Position in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 14.9% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 410,005 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 53,126 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $50,955,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $6,458,529,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 188.1% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,663,172 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,199,907,000 after buying an additional 7,614,172 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 6,517,394 shares during the period. Capital International Investors acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $592,848,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.0% in 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Market momentum and investor interest: Walmart outperformed the broader market during the latest session, providing a near-term boost to the stock. Walmart Beats Stock Market Upswing: What Investors Need to Know
• Positive Sentiment: Higher-income customer gains: Walmart is attracting more affluent shoppers through low prices, faster delivery and a broader product assortment. Sustaining this customer mix could support sales growth and improve the company’s competitive position. Can Walmart Sustain Gains Among Higher-Income Customers?
• Positive Sentiment: AI and efficiency potential: Walmart is using artificial intelligence behind the scenes to improve efficiency and reduce costs rather than selling AI products directly. Recent earnings strength and favorable analyst ratings add support to the investment case. These 3 AI Winners Don’t Sell the Tech—They Use It
• Positive Sentiment: Scale and supply-chain initiatives: Walmart, General Mills and ADM launched a regenerative agriculture program covering 40,000 Midwest wheat acres. While not an immediate earnings driver, the effort could strengthen Walmart’s supply-chain relationships and support its sustainability reputation. Walmart Launches Regenerative Agriculture Effort
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent fundamentals: Walmart’s latest quarterly revenue exceeded expectations, while earnings per share met consensus estimates. Revenue growth and the company’s scale remain supportive, although the stock’s elevated valuation makes continued execution important.
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation risk: Commentary warns that Walmart trades at a premium relative to projected forward earnings. Its scale provides a durable cost advantage, but the rich valuation leaves less room for disappointing growth or margins. Walmart Is at $108: Why Investors Should Pause

Walmart Stock Up 2.1%

WMT stock opened at $111.74 on Tuesday. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $95.42 and a 1-year high of $135.15. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $116.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $122.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $889.24 billion, a PE ratio of 39.21, a PEG ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.60.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.66. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.25% and a net margin of 3.13%.The business had revenue of $177.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $174.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.61 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on WMT shares. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $137.00 price target (up from $135.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Walmart from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, UBS Group set a $141.00 price target on shares of Walmart and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.65.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 3,775 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.64, for a total value of $413,891.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 630,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,074,186.76. The trade was a 0.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 the company’s 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 sale, the director directly owned 4,174,579 shares of the company’s stock, 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 67,729 shares of company stock valued at $8,124,931. 0.09% of the stock is currently 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.