Walmart Inc. $WMT Shares Bought by Convergence Investment Partners LLC

Convergence Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 19.4% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 53,800 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,733 shares during the quarter. Walmart comprises approximately 1.1% of Convergence Investment Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Convergence Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $6,686,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 439,957,146 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $49,015,626,000 after buying an additional 4,304,436 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Walmart by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 184,805,978 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $19,046,104,000 after acquiring an additional 2,242,364 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 103,010,709 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $11,426,753,000 after acquiring an additional 6,517,394 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth $6,458,529,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 0.8% in 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, EVP David W. Guggina sold 11,978 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 125,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,985,527.94. This trade represents a 8.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 3,775 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.64, for a total value of $413,891.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 630,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,074,186.76. The trade was a 0.60% 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 87,145 shares of company stock valued at $10,691,920 in the last 90 days. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Walmart from $120.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $137.00 price objective (up from $135.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $140.00 target price on Walmart in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.85.

Walmart Price Performance

NASDAQ:WMT opened at $112.20 on Tuesday. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $95.10 and a one year high of $135.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market cap of $892.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.37, a PEG ratio of 4.26 and a beta of 0.60. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $118.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $122.11.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last issued 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. The business had revenue of $177.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $174.84 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.25% and a net margin of 3.13%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm 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. Research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current year.

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.