Walmart Inc. $WMT Shares Sold by Hexagon Capital Partners LLC

Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lessened its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,294,971 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 6,064 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up about 47.3% of Hexagon Capital Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $255,683,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake 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. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Walmart by 1.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 184,805,978 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $19,046,104,000 after acquiring an additional 2,242,364 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 1.6% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 40,298,623 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,153,176,000 after acquiring an additional 634,211 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in Walmart by 3.5% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 27,268,463 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,810,288,000 after acquiring an additional 934,468 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Walmart by 0.4% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 24,990,692 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,575,541,000 after acquiring an additional 93,459 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.72, for a total value of $361,688.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 596,008 shares in the company, valued at $74,334,117.76. This represents a 0.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.21, for a total value of $2,566,989.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,193,995 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $554,488,078.95. This trade represents a 0.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 sold a total of 109,983 shares of company stock valued at $13,908,797 over the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Walmart Stock Performance

WMT stock opened at $121.34 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $967.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.28, a PEG ratio of 4.84 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $126.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $120.03. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $93.43 and a fifty-two week high of $135.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting 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 return on equity of 21.44% and a net margin of 3.07%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $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. Sell-side analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on WMT. Erste Group Bank upgraded Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Argus raised shares of Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, April 20th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $125.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $145.00 price target (up from $128.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.91.

Key Walmart News

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart reported Q1 EPS of $0.66, ahead of estimates, on revenue of $177.75 billion, also above expectations. The company also highlighted strong underlying growth drivers, including 26% global e-commerce growth and 37% growth in advertising revenue. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Management reaffirmed its long-term strategy and kept annual targets in place, which supports the view that Walmart’s core business remains resilient despite a cautious consumer backdrop. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts noted that Walmart continues to benefit from value-seeking shoppers, but the market is also watching whether the company can sustain growth if consumers become more stressed by inflation and higher fuel costs. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Walmart’s Q2 guidance came in below analyst forecasts, with EPS and revenue outlooks both disappointing investors. That weaker near-term guidance is the main reason the stock is falling today. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Management warned that high gas prices are squeezing household budgets and raising Walmart’s transportation and logistics costs, increasing the risk of margin pressure even as shoppers shift toward cheaper purchases. Article Title

About Walmart

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.