J. Derek Lewis & Associates Inc. Makes New Investment in Walmart Inc. $WMT

J. Derek Lewis & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 11,278 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,256,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth $1,709,000. Vise Technologies Inc. boosted its stake in Walmart by 42.1% in the fourth quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 275,341 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $30,676,000 after acquiring an additional 81,635 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in Walmart by 2.9% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,010,886 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $104,182,000 after acquiring an additional 28,026 shares in the last quarter. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $40,855,000. Finally, Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners increased its position in shares of Walmart by 466.6% during the third quarter. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners now owns 13,343 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,375,000 after purchasing an additional 10,988 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.92, for a total value of $359,368.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 577,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $71,607,543.76. The trade was a 0.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP David W. Guggina sold 11,978 shares of the company’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 value of $1,435,203.96. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 125,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,985,527.94. This trade represents a 8.74% 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 117,246 shares of company stock worth $14,493,147. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WMT. Erste Group Bank downgraded Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target (up from $145.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Freedom Capital raised Walmart from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $137.00 price objective (up from $135.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, May 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.85.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $117.18 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.77. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $94.23 and a fifty-two week high of $135.15. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $124.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $122.11. The company has a market capitalization of $932.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.37 and a beta of 0.60.

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

Walmart 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.