Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Acquires 5,455 Shares of Walmart Inc. $WMT

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 5.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 103,754 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,455 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $11,751,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Entrust Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Merkkuri Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Walmart during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 57.4% in the 4th quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Sankala Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, EVP Latriece Watkins sold 11,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.97, for a total transaction of $1,308,670.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 120,203 shares in the company, valued at $14,300,550.91. The trade was a 8.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 3,775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was 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 approximately $69,074,186.76. The trade was a 0.60% decrease in their position. 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 ninety days, insiders sold 71,439 shares of company stock valued at $8,544,532. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT stock opened at $111.85 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $114.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $121.66. The stock has a market cap of $890.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.25, a P/E/G ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 0.61. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $95.42 and a 1 year high of $135.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 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 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 prior year, the firm earned $0.61 EPS. The firm’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 anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on WMT shares. Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price objective (up from $150.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Truist Financial set a $140.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $142.00 price target on shares of Walmart and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $137.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $138.56.

About Walmart

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.