Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Increases Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its position in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 273.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 685,860 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 502,206 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in Walmart were worth $76,412,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Beacon Financial Strategies CORP purchased a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 57.4% in the fourth quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clayton Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 193.0% in the fourth quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC now owns 293 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Performance

WMT stock opened at $121.04 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $963.25 billion, a PE ratio of 42.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.52 and a beta of 0.60. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $93.62 and a one year high of $135.15. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $125.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $121.78. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.66. The firm 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 business’s revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last 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. As a group, analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP David W. Guggina sold 11,978 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.82, for a total transaction of $1,435,203.96. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 125,067 shares in the company, valued at $14,985,527.94. This represents a 8.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director owned 4,174,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $495,230,306.77. This represents a 0.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 128,986 shares of company stock valued at $15,927,908. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WMT. Freedom Capital raised shares of Walmart from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their target price on shares of Walmart from $147.00 to $146.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $150.00 target price (up from $145.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, June 8th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $138.85.

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.