Walmart Inc. $WMT Shares Sold by Hexagon Capital Partners LLC

Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lessened its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,294,971 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 6,064 shares during the quarter. Walmart comprises about 47.3% of Hexagon Capital Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its biggest position. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $255,683,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WMT. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 188.1% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,663,172 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,199,907,000 after acquiring an additional 7,614,172 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Walmart by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 439,957,146 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $49,015,626,000 after buying an additional 4,304,436 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its stake in Walmart by 20.5% during the third quarter. Amundi now owns 23,497,921 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,413,236,000 after buying an additional 4,004,277 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in Walmart during the third quarter valued at about $294,621,000. Finally, PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at about $280,736,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BTIG Research upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $150.00 price objective for the company. HSBC lowered shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $122.00 to $131.00 in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $145.00 target price on Walmart in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $145.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $138.91.

Key Walmart News

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart reported Q1 EPS of $0.66, ahead of estimates, on revenue of $177.75 billion, also above expectations. The company also highlighted strong underlying growth drivers, including 26% global e-commerce growth and 37% growth in advertising revenue. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Management reaffirmed its long-term strategy and kept annual targets in place, which supports the view that Walmart’s core business remains resilient despite a cautious consumer backdrop. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts noted that Walmart continues to benefit from value-seeking shoppers, but the market is also watching whether the company can sustain growth if consumers become more stressed by inflation and higher fuel costs. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Walmart’s Q2 guidance came in below analyst forecasts, with EPS and revenue outlooks both disappointing investors. That weaker near-term guidance is the main reason the stock is falling today. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Management warned that high gas prices are squeezing household budgets and raising Walmart’s transportation and logistics costs, increasing the risk of margin pressure even as shoppers shift toward cheaper purchases. Article Title

Walmart Price Performance

NASDAQ WMT opened at $121.34 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $126.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $120.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $967.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.84 and a beta of 0.65. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $93.43 and a 52-week high of $135.15.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last posted its quarterly 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 analyst estimates of $174.84 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 3.07% and a return on equity of 21.44%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.61 earnings per share. 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 research 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, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.21, for a total transaction of $2,566,989.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,193,995 shares in the company, valued at approximately $554,488,078.95. This trade represents a 0.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.72, for a total value of $361,688.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 596,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $74,334,117.76. This represents a 0.48% 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. Insiders sold 109,983 shares of company stock valued at $13,908,797 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Walmart 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.