Hoey Investments Inc. Sells 5,291 Shares of Walmart Inc. $WMT

Hoey Investments Inc. cut its position in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 10.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,737 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 5,291 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for about 0.8% of Hoey Investments Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Hoey Investments Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $5,684,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,458,529,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 188.1% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,663,172 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,199,907,000 after acquiring an additional 7,614,172 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Walmart by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 103,010,709 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $11,426,753,000 after acquiring an additional 6,517,394 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors acquired a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $592,848,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Walmart by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 439,957,146 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $49,015,626,000 after purchasing an additional 4,304,436 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Walmart News

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart’s aggressive price cuts are being viewed as a strategy to win inflation-weary shoppers and strengthen its grocery leadership, which analysts and commentators say could support sales volume and customer loyalty. Walmart stock gains after price cuts as analysts back grocery strategy
• Positive Sentiment: Several pieces framed Walmart as a blue-chip retail winner in volatile markets, with its scale, dividend, and resilient business model making it a preferred defensive name for investors. 3 Blue-Chip Retail Stocks to Trust as Volatility Favors Quality
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary from Jim Cramer and others characterized the recent pullback in WMT as a buying opportunity, suggesting investors may be looking past near-term volatility and focusing on Walmart’s durable earnings profile. Jim Cramer calls Walmart selloff an ‘incredible buying opportunity,’ says fears ‘have gone out the window’
• Neutral Sentiment: Walmart is also being compared favorably with Target and other retailers on revenue consistency and scale, reinforcing its quality profile but without a clear new catalyst. Walmart and Target: Comparing Revenue Consistency and Scale
• Neutral Sentiment: Trump’s public praise for Walmart’s price cuts has added visibility to the stock, but the move is still fundamentally about pricing strategy rather than a direct financial update. President Trump says Walmart will lower prices by ‘a lot’ — but the retail beast has already been slashing prices
• Negative Sentiment: Some articles warned that deeper discounting could pressure margins, and Walmart also faces ongoing legal headlines, including a $13 million driver-pay settlement and a new AI-related lawsuit. Walmart (WMT) Pays $13 Million To Settle Driver Pay Case As New AI Suit Lands

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.63, for a total transaction of $2,303,320.08. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,174,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $495,230,306.77. The trade was a 0.46% 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. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.84, for a total value of $1,638,525.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 674,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $84,162,384.08. This represents a 1.91% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 104,505 shares of company stock worth $12,858,514 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on Walmart from $120.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, June 8th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $137.00 price objective (down from $140.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, May 22nd. One equities research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.85.

Walmart Trading Up 1.4%

WMT opened at $113.10 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $121.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $122.03. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $94.23 and a fifty-two week high of $135.15. The company has a market cap of $900.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.60. 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 data 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 net margin of 3.13% and a return on equity of 21.25%. The firm had revenue of $177.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $174.84 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.61 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

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.