Walmart Inc. $WMT is Junto Capital Management LP’s 2nd Largest Position

Junto Capital Management LP grew its position in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 162.0% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,486,891 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 919,346 shares during the period. Walmart makes up 3.0% of Junto Capital Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Junto Capital Management LP’s holdings in Walmart were worth $168,405,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WMT. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in Walmart by 11,189.0% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 755,604,916 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $85,579,813,000 after acquiring an additional 748,911,635 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the second quarter worth about $7,455,131,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,458,529,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,905,655,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 7,614,172 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT stock opened at $105.83 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $110.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $119.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market cap of $839.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.21, a PEG ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.59. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $98.88 and a fifty-two week high of $135.15.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 20th. The retailer reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $187.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $186.64 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.83% and a net margin of 3.00%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.68 earnings per share. Walmart has set its Q3 2027 guidance at 0.620-0.640 EPS and its FY 2027 guidance at 2.800-2.870 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Christopher Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.34, for a total value of $308,386.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 569,153 shares in the company, valued at $60,523,730.02. This represents a 0.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 3,950 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.14, for a total transaction of $415,303.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 622,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,433,773.86. This represents a 0.63% 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 69,264 shares of company stock valued at $7,401,242. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the subject of several research reports. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective (down from $140.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, August 21st. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Walmart from $141.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Truist Financial set a $114.00 target price on Walmart and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on Walmart from $147.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.88.

About Walmart

Walmart Inc is a multinational retail and technology company that operates supercenters, discount stores, neighborhood markets, e-commerce platforms and membership warehouse clubs. Its merchandise includes groceries, apparel, electronics, home goods, health and beauty products, general merchandise and other consumer products.

Founded by Sam Walton in 1962 and incorporated in 1969, Walmart is headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas. The company serves customers through operations in the United States and international markets, including Mexico, Canada, China, India and several countries in Central America and Africa.