Parnassus Investments LLC Grows Stake in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 716,625 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,266 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $79,839,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WMT. Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Beacon Financial Strategies CORP acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 57.4% during the fourth quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clayton Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 193.0% during the fourth quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC now owns 293 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT stock opened at $120.50 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $958.95 billion, a PE ratio of 42.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.50 and a beta of 0.59. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $93.43 and a 52-week high of $135.15. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $125.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $121.66. 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 (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. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current year.

Walmart News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart is expanding Wing drone delivery to seven new U.S. metro areas, with service expected to reach more than 270 stores and potentially over 40 million Americans by next year. The move reinforces Walmart’s last-mile advantage and could improve delivery speed and customer convenience. Walmart Expands Wing Drone Delivery As Last Mile Story Takes Flight
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart introduced a new Prepaid Consolidation service aimed at making its supply chain more efficient, which should help suppliers move goods faster and support the company’s everyday-low-price strategy. Lower logistics friction can be a margin tailwind over time. Walmart Inc. (WMT) Focused on Enhancing Supply Chain Efficiency with New Service
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart’s head of growth said AI is reshaping its advertising strategy, suggesting the retailer sees more room to monetize its platform through higher-value digital ads. That could support revenue growth beyond core retail. Walmart’s head of growth says AI is rewriting the rules for its fast-growing ads business
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Walmart’s AI-powered warehouses are reducing the time needed for workers to unload trucks point to continued automation gains in the distribution network, which may improve efficiency and labor productivity. Walmart’s AI-powered warehouses are slashing the time it takes store employees to unload trucks
• Neutral Sentiment: Walmart presented at Evercore’s consumer and retail conference, but no major new financial guidance or transformational update was highlighted in the article. Walmart Inc. (WMT) Presents at The 6th Annual Evercore Consumer & Retail Conference Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary appears mixed on Walmart alongside other consumer staples names, suggesting sentiment is not universally bullish despite the company’s operational progress. Analysts Have Conflicting Sentiments on These Consumer Goods Companies: Walmart (WMT), Campbell Soup (CPB) and JM Smucker (SJM)

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $71,607,543.76. The trade was a 0.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.63, for a total value of $2,303,320.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,174,579 shares in the company, valued at $495,230,306.77. This trade represents a 0.46% 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. Insiders have sold a total of 117,008 shares of company stock worth $14,492,704 over the last three months. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Walmart from $120.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. UBS Group set a $141.00 target price on Walmart and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $138.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 20th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, DA Davidson set a $150.00 target price on Walmart and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. 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.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.85.

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.