Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Grows Stock Position in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC grew its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 34.7% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 74,340 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,154 shares during the period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $7,269,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Operose Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 319.7% in the 1st quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 319 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. PFS Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 267.8% in the second quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 320 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares during the period. Ridgewood Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 55.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 323 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. grew its position in shares of Walmart by 98.2% during the 1st quarter. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. now owns 337 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. Finally, Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 432.4% in the 1st quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 362 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Price Performance

Walmart stock opened at $102.70 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $100.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $96.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $818.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.61, a PEG ratio of 4.81 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $78.98 and a 52-week high of $106.11.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 21st. The retailer reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.06). Walmart had a return on equity of 21.45% and a net margin of 3.08%.The business had revenue of $169.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $174.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.67 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Walmart has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.580-0.600 EPS. FY 2026 guidance at 2.520-2.620 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on WMT shares. KeyCorp increased their price target on Walmart from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Walmart from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $106.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $118.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Walmart from $111.00 to $109.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Thirty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $112.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.14, for a total value of $1,248,712.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 932,313 shares in the company, valued at $88,700,258.82. This represents a 1.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.96, for a total transaction of $403,840.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 1,052,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $106,255,856.80. The trade was a 0.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 151,232 shares of company stock valued at $15,083,877. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Walmart Profile

Walmart Inc engages in the operation of retail, wholesale, other units, and eCommerce worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam's Club. It operates supercenters, supermarkets, hypermarkets, warehouse clubs, cash and carry stores, and discount stores under Walmart and Walmart Neighborhood Market brands; membership-only warehouse clubs; ecommerce websites, such as walmart.com.mx, walmart.ca, flipkart.com, PhonePe and other sites; and mobile commerce applications.