Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $1.06 Billion Stock Position in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 5.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,402,726 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 471,461 shares during the period. Walmart comprises about 0.7% of Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest position. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.12% of Walmart worth $1,060,251,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 28.8% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 98,150 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,868,000 after purchasing an additional 21,939 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Walmart by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,849 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $800,000 after buying an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Peterson Wealth Management increased its position in Walmart by 3.5% during the first quarter. Peterson Wealth Management now owns 50,307 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,416,000 after buying an additional 1,715 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 0.9% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 13,008 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,272,000 after buying an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 1.2% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 91,341 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,931,000 after buying an additional 1,048 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 price target (up from $125.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $145.00 target price on Walmart in a report on Friday, February 20th. Tigress Financial set a $150.00 target price on Walmart and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $125.00 price target (up from $108.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $145.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $137.79.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.79, for a total value of $2,555,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 486,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $62,203,571.56. This represents a 3.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,335 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.63, for a total value of $166,381.05. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 636,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $79,369,743.09. This represents a 0.21% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 167,195 shares of company stock valued at $20,975,804 in the last quarter. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Walmart Stock Up 0.4%

WMT opened at $130.79 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $125.76 and a 200-day moving average of $117.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.04 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.73, a P/E/G ratio of 4.85 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $91.89 and a 1-year high of $134.69.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The retailer reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $190.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $188.37 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 3.07% and a return on equity of 21.44%. Walmart’s revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.66 earnings per share. Walmart has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.750-2.850 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 0.610-0.610 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 11th will be given a dividend of $0.2475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 11th. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.13%.

Walmart Company Profile

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.