Walmart Inc. $WMT Stake Increased by Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc.

Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc. boosted its position in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 371.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 238,225 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 187,685 shares during the quarter. Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $29,607,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 28.8% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 98,150 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,868,000 after purchasing an additional 21,939 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,849 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $800,000 after buying an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Peterson Wealth Management grew its position in Walmart by 3.5% in the first quarter. Peterson Wealth Management now owns 50,307 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,416,000 after buying an additional 1,715 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.9% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 13,008 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,272,000 after buying an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.2% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 91,341 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,931,000 after buying an additional 1,048 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Down 0.9%

WMT opened at $108.40 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $862.66 billion, a PE ratio of 38.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.60. 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 Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $95.35 and a fifty-two week high of $135.15. The business has a 50-day moving average of $117.18 and a 200-day moving average of $122.06.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.66. The company had revenue of $177.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $174.84 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 3.13% and a return on equity of 21.25%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.61 earnings per share. 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 research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Key Walmart News

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an outperform rating on Walmart and raised its price target to $137, signaling meaningful upside potential from current levels. Benzinga report on RBC rating
• Positive Sentiment: Several recent articles highlight Walmart as a wide-moat and growth stock, pointing to durable competitive advantages and steady financial growth that can support investor confidence. Wide-moat stocks article
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart announced a partnership with ReturnPro to refurbish and resell returned products, which could improve e-commerce efficiency, recover losses from returns, and reduce waste. Yahoo Finance ReturnPro partnership article
• Neutral Sentiment: Media coverage on Walmart’s dividend history may attract income-focused investors, but it does not appear to be a new catalyst for the stock today. TheStreet dividend article
• Neutral Sentiment: Technical commentary notes Walmart’s extended downturn could set up a possible rebound, but this is more of a sentiment/valuation call than a fundamental change. MSN comeback article
• Negative Sentiment: RBC and other market commentary suggest Walmart may report a softer fiscal Q2 as lower-income shoppers remain under pressure, raising concerns about near-term sales momentum. Yahoo Finance softer Q2 article
• Negative Sentiment: One article argues Walmart has lagged the market over the past several months, with recent softer results contributing to investor caution. Yahoo Finance stock falls article

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on WMT shares. Truist Financial set a $140.00 price target on Walmart in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, UBS Group set a $141.00 price target on shares of Walmart and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.85.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 3,775 shares of Walmart 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 630,009 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,074,186.76. The trade was a 0.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through 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 Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.63, for a total value of $2,303,320.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,174,579 shares in the company, valued at approximately $495,230,306.77. This represents a 0.46% 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 67,729 shares of company stock worth $8,124,931. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.