Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Sells 11,801 Shares of Walmart Inc. $WMT

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS decreased its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 2.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 495,932 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 11,801 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up approximately 1.3% of Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS’s holdings in Walmart were worth $61,634,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Entrust Financial LLC bought a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Merkkuri Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Walmart in the first quarter worth about $29,000. Beacon Financial Strategies CORP bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 57.4% in the fourth quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Finally, Clayton Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 193.0% during the fourth quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC now owns 293 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.63, for a total transaction of $2,303,320.08. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,174,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $495,230,306.77. This trade represents a 0.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Latriece Watkins sold 11,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.97, for a total value of $1,308,670.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 120,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,300,550.91. The trade was a 8.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 104,505 shares of company stock worth $12,858,514 in the last ninety days. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart is rolling out more wellness benefits at Sam’s Club, including Weight Watchers perks, which could deepen member loyalty, support renewals, and boost recurring membership revenue. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart is also getting attention for broad price cuts across groceries and household staples, which should help reinforce its reputation as a defensive, inflation-fighting retailer and drive traffic to stores and clubs. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Jim Cramer said Walmart is one of the “greatest companies on earth” and called the recent pullback an “incredible buying opportunity,” helping support sentiment around the stock. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary around Walmart’s health event and its AI shopping efforts highlights longer-term strategic investments, but these items are more thematic than immediate catalysts for the stock. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage comparing Walmart’s AI shopping race with Amazon underscores competitive pressure in retail tech, but it does not point to any near-term operational setback for Walmart. Article Title

Walmart Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of WMT traded up $1.69 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $113.90. 12,452,368 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,901,888. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $94.23 and a 12 month high of $135.15. The stock has a market cap of $906.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.97, a P/E/G ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.60. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $120.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $121.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $174.84 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.61 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Walmart has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.750-2.850 EPS and its Q2 2027 guidance at 0.720-0.740 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMT has been the topic of several research reports. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, June 8th. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, May 22nd. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their target price on Walmart from $147.00 to $146.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $150.00 target price (up from $145.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $120.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.85.

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.