Cetera Investment Advisers Purchases 27,853 Shares of Walmart Inc. $WMT

Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 1.0% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,815,570 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 27,853 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in Walmart were worth $349,919,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $6,458,529,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 188.1% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,663,172 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,199,907,000 after buying an additional 7,614,172 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 103,010,709 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $11,426,753,000 after buying an additional 6,517,394 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors purchased a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth about $592,848,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Walmart by 1.0% in the 4th 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 last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.08, for a total transaction of $1,628,550.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 661,037 shares in the company, valued at $82,021,470.96. This trade represents a 1.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available 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 on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.64, for a total transaction of $413,891.00. Following the sale, 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. 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 67,729 shares of company stock valued at $8,124,931. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Price Performance

NASDAQ WMT opened at $109.33 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $117.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $122.09. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $95.29 and a 52 week high of $135.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $870.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.36, a PEG ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 0.60.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66. The company had revenue of $177.75 billion for 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 firm’s revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last 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 anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial set a $140.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Freedom Capital raised shares of Walmart from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $155.00 target price (up from $150.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, May 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $138.85.

Trending Headlines about Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: RBC reaffirmed an outperform rating on Walmart and set a $137 price target, signaling meaningful upside from current levels and helping support sentiment. Benzinga report on RBC rating reaffirmation
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart is being described as a solid growth stock, with articles citing above-average financial growth and positioning that could help it outperform the market. Zacks growth stock article
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart partnered with ReturnPro to refurbish and resell returned items, a move that could improve e-commerce margins, recover value from returns, and reduce waste. Yahoo Finance ReturnPro partnership article

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.