Walmart Inc. $WMT Stake Cut by Infusive Asset Management Inc.

Infusive Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 21.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 103,536 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 29,049 shares during the quarter. Walmart comprises about 6.2% of Infusive Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Infusive Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $12,867,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Walmart by 1.0% in 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. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 184,805,978 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $19,046,104,000 after purchasing an additional 2,242,364 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 103,010,709 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $11,426,753,000 after buying an additional 6,517,394 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,458,529,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 40,626,852 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,526,238,000 after buying an additional 328,229 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.19, for a total value of $342,751.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 574,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $67,953,695.07. This represents a 0.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.63, for a total transaction of $2,303,320.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,174,579 shares in the company, valued at approximately $495,230,306.77. This represents a 0.46% 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 67,729 shares of company stock valued at $8,124,931 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Key Walmart News

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an outperform rating on Walmart and raised its price target to $137, signaling meaningful upside potential from current levels. Benzinga report on RBC rating
• Positive Sentiment: Several recent articles highlight Walmart as a wide-moat and growth stock, pointing to durable competitive advantages and steady financial growth that can support investor confidence. Wide-moat stocks article
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart announced a partnership with ReturnPro to refurbish and resell returned products, which could improve e-commerce efficiency, recover losses from returns, and reduce waste. Yahoo Finance ReturnPro partnership article
• Neutral Sentiment: Media coverage on Walmart’s dividend history may attract income-focused investors, but it does not appear to be a new catalyst for the stock today. TheStreet dividend article
• Neutral Sentiment: Technical commentary notes Walmart’s extended downturn could set up a possible rebound, but this is more of a sentiment/valuation call than a fundamental change. MSN comeback article
• Negative Sentiment: RBC and other market commentary suggest Walmart may report a softer fiscal Q2 as lower-income shoppers remain under pressure, raising concerns about near-term sales momentum. Yahoo Finance softer Q2 article
• Negative Sentiment: One article argues Walmart has lagged the market over the past several months, with recent softer results contributing to investor caution. Yahoo Finance stock falls article

Walmart Stock Performance

Walmart stock opened at $108.40 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $862.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.60. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $95.35 and a 12 month high of $135.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $117.18 and its 200-day moving average is $122.06.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66. The business had revenue of $177.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $174.84 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.25% and a net margin of 3.13%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $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. Equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WMT. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $120.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $137.00 price target (up from $135.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Walmart from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.