Bank of America Corp DE Lowers Holdings in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Bank of America Corp DE reduced its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 4.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 65,844,247 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 3,355,984 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 0.83% of Walmart worth $8,183,123,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $6,458,529,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Walmart by 188.1% during 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 acquiring an additional 7,614,172 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 103,010,709 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $11,426,753,000 after acquiring an additional 6,517,394 shares during the period. Capital International Investors acquired a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $592,848,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Walmart by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 439,957,146 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $49,015,626,000 after acquiring an additional 4,304,436 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Truist Financial set a $140.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $137.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $120.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane dropped their price target on shares of Walmart from $147.00 to $146.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.65.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Latriece Watkins sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 120,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,300,550.91. This trade represents a 8.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David W. Guggina sold 11,978 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.82, for a total transaction of $1,435,203.96. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 125,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,985,527.94. This trade represents a 8.74% 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. Insiders have sold 67,729 shares of company stock worth $8,124,931 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of WMT opened at $114.22 on Thursday. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $95.42 and a 12 month high of $135.15. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $115.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $122.03. The firm has a market cap of $908.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.08, a PEG ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 0.60.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66. The business had revenue of $177.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $174.84 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.25% and a net margin of 3.13%.The business’s revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.61 earnings per share. Walmart has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.750-2.850 EPS and its Q2 2027 guidance at 0.720-0.740 EPS. Analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.