Wellington Capital Management Inc. Takes Position in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Wellington Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 30,171 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $2,950,000. Walmart comprises approximately 4.1% of Wellington Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 397,264.9% in 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 during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Walmart during the second quarter valued at $5,367,770,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 9,648.7% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,486,374 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,123,138,000 after acquiring an additional 11,368,549 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Walmart by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 431,817,510 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,223,116,000 after acquiring an additional 5,856,468 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Walmart by 527.1% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,739,038 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $591,620,000 after acquiring an additional 5,664,484 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Price Performance

NASDAQ WMT opened at $116.70 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $930.12 billion, a PE ratio of 40.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.40 and a beta of 0.64. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $79.81 and a 12-month high of $116.95. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $106.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $101.49.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The retailer reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 3.26% and a return on equity of 21.31%. The business had revenue of $179.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $175.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.58 EPS. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Walmart has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.580-2.630 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.21, for a total value of $2,003,925.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 4,373,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $451,396,778.96. The trade was a 0.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP David Chojnowski sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.65, for a total value of $746,550.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,535,221.85. This represents a 4.89% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 128,013 shares of company stock valued at $13,553,747 in the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on WMT shares. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $125.00 price objective (up previously from $115.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 target price (up previously from $115.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $117.00 price target on shares of Walmart and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Thirty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $119.31.

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.