Meiji Yasuda America Inc Acquires Shares of 77,124 Walmart Inc. $WMT

Meiji Yasuda America Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 77,124 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $8,592,000. Walmart comprises about 2.0% of Meiji Yasuda America Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Entrust Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Beacon Financial Strategies CORP bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 57.4% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Clayton Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 193.0% during the 4th quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC now owns 293 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

Walmart stock opened at $120.50 on Friday. 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 Inc. has a 1-year low of $93.43 and a 1-year high of $135.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $958.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.50 and a beta of 0.59. The company’s 50-day moving average is $125.36 and its 200 day moving average is $121.66.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66. Walmart had a net margin of 3.13% and a return on equity of 21.25%. The company had revenue of $177.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $174.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.61 EPS. The firm’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. Research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.77, for a total value of $167,212.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 635,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $85,023,275.61. This represents a 0.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through 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 stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $495,230,306.77. This trade 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. Insiders sold a total of 117,008 shares of company stock worth $14,492,704 over the last three months. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WMT. HSBC cut shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their target price for the company from $122.00 to $131.00 in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 target price (up from $150.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $120.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Craig Hallum set a $150.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, March 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.85.

More Walmart News

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart is expanding Wing drone delivery to seven new U.S. metro areas, with service expected to reach more than 270 stores and potentially over 40 million Americans by next year. The move reinforces Walmart’s last-mile advantage and could improve delivery speed and customer convenience. Walmart Expands Wing Drone Delivery As Last Mile Story Takes Flight
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart introduced a new Prepaid Consolidation service aimed at making its supply chain more efficient, which should help suppliers move goods faster and support the company’s everyday-low-price strategy. Lower logistics friction can be a margin tailwind over time. Walmart Inc. (WMT) Focused on Enhancing Supply Chain Efficiency with New Service
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart’s head of growth said AI is reshaping its advertising strategy, suggesting the retailer sees more room to monetize its platform through higher-value digital ads. That could support revenue growth beyond core retail. Walmart’s head of growth says AI is rewriting the rules for its fast-growing ads business
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Walmart’s AI-powered warehouses are reducing the time needed for workers to unload trucks point to continued automation gains in the distribution network, which may improve efficiency and labor productivity. Walmart’s AI-powered warehouses are slashing the time it takes store employees to unload trucks
• Neutral Sentiment: Walmart presented at Evercore’s consumer and retail conference, but no major new financial guidance or transformational update was highlighted in the article. Walmart Inc. (WMT) Presents at The 6th Annual Evercore Consumer & Retail Conference Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary appears mixed on Walmart alongside other consumer staples names, suggesting sentiment is not universally bullish despite the company’s operational progress. Analysts Have Conflicting Sentiments on These Consumer Goods Companies: Walmart (WMT), Campbell Soup (CPB) and JM Smucker (SJM)

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.