Walmart Inc. $WMT Shares Bought by Macquarie Group Ltd.

Macquarie Group Ltd. raised its stake in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 15.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 564,128 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 75,464 shares during the period. Macquarie Group Ltd.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $62,850,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management boosted its stake in Walmart by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management now owns 44,881 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,004,000 after acquiring an additional 2,543 shares in the last quarter. M1 Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. M1 Capital Management LLC now owns 10,323 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,150,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Circle Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. Circle Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,521 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $726,000 after acquiring an additional 633 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 131,725 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $14,675,000 after acquiring an additional 794 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC now owns 66,764 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,438,000 after acquiring an additional 1,079 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $121.04 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $93.62 and a fifty-two week high of $135.15. 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 4.50 and a beta of 0.59. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $125.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $121.66. 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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66. The firm had revenue of $177.75 billion during 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%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm 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. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on WMT. Craig Hallum set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, March 6th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective (up from $145.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $145.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 20th. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $147.00 to $146.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, May 18th. One equities 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.85.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, EVP Latriece Watkins sold 11,000 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.08, for a total transaction of $1,628,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 661,037 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $82,021,470.96. The trade was a 1.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 128,986 shares of company stock valued at $15,927,908 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.