Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Acquires 2,720,535 Shares of Walmart Inc. $WMT

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 207.2% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,033,440 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 2,720,535 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for about 0.6% of Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $456,827,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 3,710 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.10, for a total value of $419,601.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 626,299 shares in the company, valued at $70,834,416.90. This represents a 0.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 dated Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.82, for a total transaction of $1,435,203.96. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 125,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 have sold a total of 71,439 shares of company stock valued at $8,544,532 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT stock opened at $112.07 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $891.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.19 and a beta of 0.61. 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 52-week low of $95.42 and a 52-week high of $135.15. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $114.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $121.73.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $177.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $174.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.61 earnings per share. The company’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. Research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Freedom Capital raised Walmart from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Mizuho set a $130.00 price objective on Walmart in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, May 18th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Walmart from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $145.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.56.

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.