Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd Makes New Investment in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 133,200 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $14,840,000. Walmart makes up 3.4% of Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 28.8% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 98,150 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,868,000 after buying an additional 21,939 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Peterson Wealth Management lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 1,715 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 13,008 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,272,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 91,341 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,931,000 after acquiring an additional 1,048 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $120.00 target price on Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Truist Financial set a $140.00 target price on Walmart in a report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday. Finally, Argus raised Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.71.

Key Stories Impacting Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart posted solid first-quarter results, with revenue of $177.8 billion and EPS of $0.66, while e-commerce sales rose 26% and advertising revenue jumped 37%, highlighting continued strength in digital and membership-driven businesses.
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts remained constructive after earnings: Bank of America reiterated a Buy rating and said Walmart is well positioned to gain share in a price-sensitive environment, while BTIG and BNP Paribas Exane also kept positive ratings despite modestly trimming price targets.
• Neutral Sentiment: Walmart disclosed pre-arranged insider sales by CEO John Furner and EVP Christopher James Nicholas, but both transactions were made under 10b5-1 plans, which typically limits how much investors read into them.
• Neutral Sentiment: News reports also noted leadership changes, including the departure of Sam’s Club COO Tom Ward and U.S. stores EVP Cedric Clark, adding some uncertainty but not appearing to change the company’s near-term operating outlook.
• Negative Sentiment: Shares weakened after Walmart issued second-quarter EPS guidance below consensus and reaffirmed full-year targets that also came in below Wall Street expectations, prompting concerns that margin pressure could continue.
• Negative Sentiment: Management said elevated fuel prices are pressuring both consumers and Walmart’s own costs, reinforcing worries that spending could soften and profitability could stay under pressure in the coming quarters.

Walmart Price Performance

NASDAQ WMT opened at $120.27 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $958.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.20, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.65. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $93.43 and a 1-year high of $135.15. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $126.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $120.03.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.66. The firm had revenue of $177.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $174.84 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.25% and a net margin of 3.13%.Walmart’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business 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 analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.21, for a total value of $2,566,989.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,193,995 shares in the company, valued at approximately $554,488,078.95. This represents a 0.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 577,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $71,607,543.76. The trade was a 0.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 126,008 shares of company stock worth $15,896,715 in the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.