Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. Boosts Holdings in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. raised its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 4.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 156,394 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 6,988 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up approximately 0.5% of Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $17,424,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Beacon Financial Strategies CORP purchased a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 57.4% in the 4th quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Finally, Clayton Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 193.0% in the 4th quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC now owns 293 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.92, for a total transaction of $359,368.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 577,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $71,607,543.76. The trade was a 0.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP David W. Guggina sold 11,978 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.82, for a total value of $1,435,203.96. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 125,067 shares in the company, valued at $14,985,527.94. This trade represents a 8.74% 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 128,986 shares of company stock worth $15,927,908 in the last ninety days. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $137.00 price target (up from $135.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, May 11th. Bank of America started coverage on Walmart in a report on Friday, February 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $150.00 target price for the company. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Walmart from $120.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Argus upgraded Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane decreased their target price on Walmart from $147.00 to $146.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 22nd. One 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.85.

Walmart Stock Performance

Walmart stock opened at $121.04 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $125.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $121.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $963.25 billion, a PE ratio of 42.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.50 and a beta of 0.59. 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 Inc. has a one year low of $93.62 and a one year high of $135.15.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last released 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 analyst estimates of $174.84 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.25% and a net margin of 3.13%.Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $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, sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current fiscal 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.