State Street Corp Grows Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. $WMT

State Street Corp grew its stake in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 1.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 188,036,646 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,107,781 shares during the period. State Street Corp owned approximately 2.37% of Walmart worth $21,297,031,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in 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 during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 2nd quarter worth $7,455,131,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth $6,458,529,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 40,626,852 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,526,238,000 after acquiring an additional 328,229 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 36,820,550 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,102,546,000 after acquiring an additional 920,969 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Up 2.0%

NASDAQ WMT traded up $2.16 on Tuesday, reaching $109.60. The stock had a trading volume of 6,552,327 shares, compared to its average volume of 25,376,477. The firm has a market capitalization of $869.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.61, a P/E/G ratio of 4.07 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $98.88 and a 12-month high of $135.15. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $109.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $118.03.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The retailer reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.07. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.83% and a net margin of 3.00%.The business had revenue of $187.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $186.64 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.68 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Walmart has set its Q3 2027 guidance at 0.620-0.640 EPS and its FY 2027 guidance at 2.800-2.870 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, EVP Daniel Bartlett sold 3,950 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.14, for a total transaction of $415,303.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 622,349 shares in the company, valued at $65,433,773.86. This trade represents a 0.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Daniel Danker sold 50,644 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.35, for a total value of $5,335,345.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 201,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,246,145.20. This represents a 20.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 81,004 shares of company stock worth $8,601,724 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on WMT shares. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $128.00 price objective (down from $137.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, August 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Walmart from $137.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 21st. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $126.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Truist Financial set a $114.00 price objective on Walmart and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.88.

About Walmart

Walmart Inc is a multinational retail and technology company that operates supercenters, discount stores, neighborhood markets, e-commerce platforms and membership warehouse clubs. Its merchandise includes groceries, apparel, electronics, home goods, health and beauty products, general merchandise and other consumer products.

Founded by Sam Walton in 1962 and incorporated in 1969, Walmart is headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas. The company serves customers through operations in the United States and international markets, including Mexico, Canada, China, India and several countries in Central America and Africa.