Walmart Inc. $WMT Shares Bought by Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC

Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 16.6% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 40,367 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,746 shares during the quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $5,017,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Merkkuri Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Walmart during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Beacon Financial Strategies CORP acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 57.4% in the fourth quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clayton Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 193.0% during the 4th quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC now owns 293 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WMT. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective (up from $145.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. UBS Group set a $141.00 target price on shares of Walmart and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Craig Hallum set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, March 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $138.85.

Walmart News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart’s ad business, Walmart Connect, is being viewed as an increasingly important margin driver, supported by ad growth, seller spending, and e-commerce gains. This helps offset concerns about retail margin pressure. Is Walmart Connect Becoming a Bigger Margin Driver for WMT?
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart is also benefiting from its role in helping seniors navigate new Medicare coverage for obesity drugs, which reinforces its healthcare-related services and customer reach. Healthy Returns: Walmart, CVS step in to help seniors navigate Medicare coverage of obesity drugs
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart+ engagement appears to be supported by popular fuel discounts, which could help membership retention and recurring revenue over time. Walmart+ Executive Says Fuel Discounts Supercharge Member Engagement
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor attention remains elevated around WMT, with recent articles highlighting the stock’s large valuation and the market’s ongoing debate about whether e-commerce and store investments can justify the premium.
• Negative Sentiment: Traders are selling Walmart after a research note from Cleveland Research suggested U.S. comparable sales have “slowed to some degree,” raising concerns that domestic growth momentum may be cooling. Walmart Shares Slip Amid Sales Slowdown Concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Another note said Walmart shares have fallen to near an eight-month low as analysts flag slowing sales, reinforcing concerns that near-term fundamentals may not match the stock’s valuation. WMT Stock Sinks To Near Eight-Month Low — Cleveland Research Flags Slowing Sales

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $108.82 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $866.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 0.60. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $94.23 and a 52-week high of $135.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $122.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $122.18.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.66. Walmart had a net margin of 3.13% and a return on equity of 21.25%. The business had revenue of $177.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $174.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.61 EPS. The company’s 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 predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.92, for a total transaction of $359,368.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 577,853 shares in the company, valued at $71,607,543.76. This represents a 0.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP David W. Guggina sold 11,978 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 125,067 shares in the company, valued at $14,985,527.94. The trade was a 8.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 100,730 shares of company stock worth $12,444,624 over the last ninety days. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.