HM Payson & Co. Trims Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. $WMT

HM Payson & Co. reduced its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 1.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 278,674 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 5,377 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $28,720,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Access Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the second quarter worth about $26,000. PFS Partners LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 267.8% in the 2nd quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 320 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 233 shares during the period. Ridgewood Investments LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 55.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 323 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new position in Walmart in the 2nd quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Harbor Asset Planning Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the second quarter worth approximately $46,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Up 0.7%

WMT opened at $112.53 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market cap of $896.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.35, a PEG ratio of 5.16 and a beta of 0.64. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $79.81 and a 12 month high of $117.45. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $108.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $102.74.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 20th. The retailer reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $179.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $175.15 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.31% and a net margin of 3.26%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.58 earnings per share. Walmart has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.580-2.630 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.78, for a total value of $1,414,612.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 892,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $96,241,073.20. The trade was a 1.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP David Chojnowski sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.65, for a total value of $746,550.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,535,221.85. This represents a 4.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 127,828 shares of company stock worth $13,912,991 in the last quarter. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America boosted their price target on Walmart from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $125.00 target price (up from $120.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Truist Financial set a $127.00 price target on Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $123.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Thirty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $120.69.

Walmart Company 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.