Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Increases Holdings in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 3.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,026,684 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 330,076 shares during the period. Walmart makes up about 0.9% of Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,370,396,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $6,458,529,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 188.1% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,663,172 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,199,907,000 after acquiring an additional 7,614,172 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 103,010,709 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $11,426,753,000 after acquiring an additional 6,517,394 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors purchased a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth approximately $592,848,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted 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 worth $49,015,626,000 after acquiring an additional 4,304,436 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Up 1.5%

NASDAQ:WMT traded up $1.69 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $113.90. The stock had a trading volume of 12,452,368 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,901,888. 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 company has a market capitalization of $906.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.18 and a beta of 0.60. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $94.23 and a 1-year high of $135.15. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $120.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $121.96.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66. The company had revenue of $177.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $174.84 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.25% and a net margin of 3.13%.Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $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 EPS for the current year.

Walmart News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart is rolling out more wellness benefits at Sam’s Club, including Weight Watchers perks, which could deepen member loyalty, support renewals, and boost recurring membership revenue. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart is also getting attention for broad price cuts across groceries and household staples, which should help reinforce its reputation as a defensive, inflation-fighting retailer and drive traffic to stores and clubs. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Jim Cramer said Walmart is one of the “greatest companies on earth” and called the recent pullback an “incredible buying opportunity,” helping support sentiment around the stock. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary around Walmart’s health event and its AI shopping efforts highlights longer-term strategic investments, but these items are more thematic than immediate catalysts for the stock. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage comparing Walmart’s AI shopping race with Amazon underscores competitive pressure in retail tech, but it does not point to any near-term operational setback for Walmart. Article Title

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.63, for a total value of $2,303,320.08. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,174,579 shares in the company, valued at approximately $495,230,306.77. This trade represents a 0.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.19, for a total transaction of $342,751.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 574,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $67,953,695.07. This trade represents a 0.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 104,505 shares of company stock worth $12,858,514. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, June 8th. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price target (up from $150.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective (up from $145.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $138.85.

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.