State Street Corp Raises Holdings in Walmart Inc. $WMT

State Street Corp grew its stake in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 188,036,646 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 2,107,781 shares during the quarter. State Street Corp’s holdings in Walmart were worth $21,297,031,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 6.8% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Walmart during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $7,455,131,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,458,529,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 40,626,852 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,526,238,000 after purchasing an additional 328,229 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Walmart by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 36,820,550 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,102,546,000 after purchasing an additional 920,969 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Stock Performance

WMT stock traded up $2.16 on Tuesday, hitting $109.60. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,552,327 shares, compared to its average volume of 25,376,477. The stock has a market cap of $869.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.07 and a beta of 0.59. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $109.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $118.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $98.88 and a 1 year 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 the consensus estimate of $186.64 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 3.00% and a return on equity of 21.83%. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.68 EPS. 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 analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $137.00 price objective (down from $146.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $130.00 target price (down from $140.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, August 21st. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $140.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Finally, Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Christopher Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.65, for a total transaction of $309,285.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 566,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $60,390,882.45. This trade represents a 0.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO John Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.66, for a total value of $1,399,912.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 647,912 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,106,293.92. This represents a 1.99% 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 81,004 shares of company stock worth $8,601,724. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Profile

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.