Janus Henderson Group PLC Sells 53,141 Shares of Walmart Inc. $WMT

Janus Henderson Group PLC lowered its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 6.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 772,518 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 53,141 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $96,011,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WMT. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,458,529,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 7,614,172 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 6,517,394 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at $592,848,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Walmart by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 439,957,146 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $49,015,626,000 after purchasing an additional 4,304,436 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ WMT opened at $111.20 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $884.94 billion, a PE ratio of 39.02, a PEG ratio of 4.14 and a beta of 0.60. The business has a fifty day moving average of $115.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $121.93. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $95.42 and a 52-week high of $135.15. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.66. The company had revenue of $177.75 billion for 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 for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.61 EPS. 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, equities research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.63, for a total value of $2,303,320.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,174,579 shares in the company, valued at approximately $495,230,306.77. The trade was a 0.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 120,203 shares in the company, 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 67,729 shares of company stock valued at $8,124,931. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group set a $141.00 price target on shares of Walmart and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. 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. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, June 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $142.00 target price on shares of Walmart and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.56.

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.