Walmart Inc. $WMT Shares Acquired by Smithfield Trust Co

Smithfield Trust Co increased its stake in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 13.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,410 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,949 shares during the period. Smithfield Trust Co’s holdings in Walmart were worth $4,721,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Walmart by 1.0% in 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. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 184,805,978 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $19,046,104,000 after acquiring an additional 2,242,364 shares in the last quarter. 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 worth $4,526,238,000 after acquiring an additional 328,229 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 27,268,463 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,810,288,000 after acquiring an additional 934,468 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 24,990,692 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,575,541,000 after acquiring an additional 93,459 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More Walmart News

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart posted strong first-quarter revenue of $177.8 billion, up 7.3% year over year, with global e-commerce sales jumping 26% and advertising growing 37%, reinforcing the company’s growth beyond traditional retail. Walmart Stock Fell After Its Earnings Beat. Is the Post-Earnings Dip a Buying Opportunity?
• Positive Sentiment: UBS said its long-term view on Walmart’s higher-margin “second P&L” remains intact, highlighting advertising, marketplace fees, and membership income as key growth drivers. Walmart price target lowered by UBS as Q1 results miss elevated expectations
• Positive Sentiment: Higher gasoline prices could support Walmart’s value-focused traffic, as consumers tend to trade down to low-price retailers when inflation and fuel costs rise. Walmart CEO issues blunt message on rising fuel prices
• Neutral Sentiment: UBS lowered its price target to $141 from $147 after the quarter, but still kept a constructive longer-term stance, suggesting the report was good but not enough to justify prior elevated expectations. Walmart price target lowered by UBS as Q1 results miss elevated expectations
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and market commentary largely focused on whether Walmart’s strong e-commerce and membership growth can keep offsetting a more cautious consumer backdrop. Walmart’s Q1 Sales Jump 7.3%: Can E-commerce Sustain 26% Growth?
• Negative Sentiment: Walmart’s cautious second-quarter guidance and pressure from rising fuel costs were cited as a reason the stock sold off after earnings, despite the upbeat revenue results. Walmart Stock Fell After Its Earnings Beat. Is the Post-Earnings Dip a Buying Opportunity?
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley also turned more cautious on Walmart amid high inflation, reinforcing concerns that margins and near-term upside may be limited after the recent run-up. Morgan Stanley resets Walmart forecast on high inflation
• Negative Sentiment: Reports of senior executive departures after John Furner’s arrival added a small layer of leadership uncertainty, though this appears less important than the earnings and outlook issues. Walmart Sees Executives Depart Following New CEO’s Arrival

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,335 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.63, for a total value of $166,381.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 636,843 shares in the company, valued at $79,369,743.09. This represents a 0.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $554,488,078.95. The trade was a 0.46% 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 have sold a total of 126,008 shares of company stock valued at $15,896,715 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

NASDAQ WMT opened at $120.27 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.24. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $93.43 and a 1 year high of $135.15. The company has a market capitalization of $958.67 billion, a PE ratio of 42.20, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a fifty day moving average of $126.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $120.29.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.66. Walmart had a net margin of 3.13% and a return on equity of 21.25%. The company had revenue of $177.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $174.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.61 earnings per share. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Walmart has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.750-2.850 EPS and its Q2 2027 guidance at 0.720-0.740 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial set a $140.00 price objective on Walmart in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $150.00 price objective on Walmart in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $138.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, UBS Group set a $141.00 price objective on Walmart and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.71.

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.