Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Acquires 23,268 Shares of Walmart Inc. $WMT

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 1.7% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,422,230 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 23,268 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up about 0.9% of Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $176,547,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WMT. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $6,458,529,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 188.1% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,663,172 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,199,907,000 after buying an additional 7,614,172 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 103,010,709 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $11,426,753,000 after buying an additional 6,517,394 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth about $592,848,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 439,957,146 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $49,015,626,000 after buying an additional 4,304,436 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart is rolling out more wellness benefits at Sam’s Club, including Weight Watchers perks, which could deepen member loyalty, support renewals, and boost recurring membership revenue. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart is also getting attention for broad price cuts across groceries and household staples, which should help reinforce its reputation as a defensive, inflation-fighting retailer and drive traffic to stores and clubs. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Jim Cramer said Walmart is one of the “greatest companies on earth” and called the recent pullback an “incredible buying opportunity,” helping support sentiment around the stock. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary around Walmart’s health event and its AI shopping efforts highlights longer-term strategic investments, but these items are more thematic than immediate catalysts for the stock. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage comparing Walmart’s AI shopping race with Amazon underscores competitive pressure in retail tech, but it does not point to any near-term operational setback for Walmart. Article Title

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WMT traded up $1.69 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $113.90. 12,452,368 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,901,888. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $120.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $121.96. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $94.23 and a 1-year high of $135.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $906.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.97, a PEG ratio of 4.18 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.66. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.25% and a net margin of 3.13%.The company had revenue of $177.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $174.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.61 EPS. The company’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 expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Walmart news, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,174,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $495,230,306.77. This represents a 0.46% decrease in their position. 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, EVP David W. Guggina sold 11,978 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 125,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,985,527.94. The trade was a 8.74% 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 104,505 shares of company stock worth $12,858,514. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WMT. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price objective on Walmart from $147.00 to $146.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Erste Group Bank lowered Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Tigress Financial reaffirmed 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. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $120.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.85.

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.