Prudential Financial Inc. Acquires 178,907 Shares of Walmart Inc. $WMT

Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,658,065 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 178,907 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $357,686,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Walmart by 1.4% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 431,817,510 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $42,223,116,000 after buying an additional 5,856,468 shares in the last quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC grew its position in Walmart by 397,264.9% during the second quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 104,514,912 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $10,496,702,000 after buying an additional 104,488,610 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 94,557,532 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $9,199,712,000 after acquiring an additional 263,718 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Walmart by 30.1% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 33,292,749 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,922,770,000 after acquiring an additional 7,706,201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 30,874,987 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,710,665,000 after acquiring an additional 387,424 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Erste Group Bank upgraded Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Mizuho reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $101.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $116.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Walmart and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Thirty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $118.55.

Walmart Trading Down 1.7%

NYSE WMT opened at $105.29 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $839.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.83 and a beta of 0.67. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $79.81 and a twelve month high of $109.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The business’s fifty day moving average is $103.52 and its 200 day moving average is $99.90.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The retailer reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.45% and a net margin of 3.08%.The business had revenue of $179.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $175.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.58 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Walmart has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.580-2.630 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.78, for a total transaction of $1,414,612.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 892,940 shares in the company, valued at $96,241,073.20. This trade represents a 1.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.75, for a total transaction of $431,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 1,044,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $112,540,026.25. This trade represents a 0.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 137,888 shares of company stock worth $14,241,903 over the last quarter. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Company 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.