Welch & Forbes LLC Has $65.01 Million Holdings in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Welch & Forbes LLC lessened its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 2.3% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 523,098 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 12,131 shares during the period. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $65,011,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Walmart by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 439,957,146 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $49,015,626,000 after purchasing an additional 4,304,436 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Walmart by 1.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 184,805,978 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $19,046,104,000 after buying an additional 2,242,364 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 6.8% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $6,458,529,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 40,626,852 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,526,238,000 after buying an additional 328,229 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Key Walmart News

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart is rolling out more wellness benefits at Sam’s Club, including Weight Watchers perks, which could deepen member loyalty, support renewals, and boost recurring membership revenue. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart is also getting attention for broad price cuts across groceries and household staples, which should help reinforce its reputation as a defensive, inflation-fighting retailer and drive traffic to stores and clubs. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Jim Cramer said Walmart is one of the “greatest companies on earth” and called the recent pullback an “incredible buying opportunity,” helping support sentiment around the stock. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary around Walmart’s health event and its AI shopping efforts highlights longer-term strategic investments, but these items are more thematic than immediate catalysts for the stock. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage comparing Walmart’s AI shopping race with Amazon underscores competitive pressure in retail tech, but it does not point to any near-term operational setback for Walmart. Article Title

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Latriece Watkins sold 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.97, for a total transaction of $1,308,670.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 120,203 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,300,550.91. This trade represents a 8.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP David W. Guggina sold 11,978 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.82, for a total transaction of $1,435,203.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 125,067 shares in the company, valued at $14,985,527.94. This trade represents a 8.74% 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 three months, insiders have sold 104,505 shares of company stock worth $12,858,514. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WMT opened at $113.90 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $906.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.97, a P/E/G ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.60. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $94.23 and a 12-month high of $135.15. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $120.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $122.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.66. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.25% and a net margin of 3.13%.The company had revenue of $177.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $174.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.61 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Walmart has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.750-2.850 EPS and its Q2 2027 guidance at 0.720-0.740 EPS. Analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, June 8th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Erste Group Bank downgraded Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $137.00 price target (down from $140.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $137.00 price objective (up from $135.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, May 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $138.85.

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.