Virtu Financial LLC Makes New $2.56 Million Investment in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 23,007 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $2,563,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 28.8% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 98,150 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,868,000 after acquiring an additional 21,939 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Walmart by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,849 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $800,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Peterson Wealth Management grew its position in Walmart by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Peterson Wealth Management now owns 50,307 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,416,000 after purchasing an additional 1,715 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Walmart by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 13,008 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,272,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schnieders Capital Management LLC. raised its stake in Walmart by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 91,341 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,931,000 after purchasing an additional 1,048 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on WMT shares. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Walmart from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. UBS Group set a $141.00 price target on Walmart and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their price target on Walmart from $147.00 to $146.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Tigress Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $155.00 price objective (up from $150.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $145.00 target price on Walmart in a report on Friday, February 20th. 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $138.85.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WMT opened at $117.18 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $932.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.12, a P/E/G ratio of 4.37 and a beta of 0.59. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $94.23 and a 1 year high of $135.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $124.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $122.04.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.25% and a net margin of 3.13%.The firm had revenue of $177.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $174.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.61 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

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 value of $359,368.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP David W. Guggina sold 11,978 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 125,067 shares in the company, valued at $14,985,527.94. This represents a 8.74% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 117,246 shares of company stock worth $14,493,147 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.