National Pension Service Purchases 345,123 Shares of Walmart Inc. $WMT

National Pension Service boosted its position in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 10,314,166 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 345,123 shares during the period. Walmart comprises approximately 0.8% of National Pension Service’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. National Pension Service’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,168,182,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the second quarter worth about $6,451,000. Advisortrust Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 20.2% during the 1st quarter. Advisortrust Partners LLC now owns 67,142 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,344,000 after acquiring an additional 11,283 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA boosted its holdings in Walmart by 253.3% during the 1st quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA now owns 384,034 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $47,728,000 after acquiring an additional 275,337 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 2,416,580 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $300,333,000 after acquiring an additional 68,632 shares during the period. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. grew its position in Walmart by 42.1% during the 4th quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 275,341 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $30,676,000 after acquiring an additional 81,635 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on WMT. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Guggenheim set a $130.00 target price on shares of Walmart and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Walmart from $137.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Gordon Haskett lowered shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, Evercore set a $125.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.88.

Walmart Trading Down 0.2%

NASDAQ WMT opened at $105.83 on Thursday. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $98.88 and a fifty-two week high of $135.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.77. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $110.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $119.08. The stock has a market cap of $839.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.59.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 20th. The retailer reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $187.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $186.64 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 3.00% and a return on equity of 21.83%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.68 EPS. Walmart has set its Q3 2027 guidance at 0.620-0.640 EPS and its FY 2027 guidance at 2.800-2.870 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel Danker sold 50,644 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.35, for a total value of $5,335,345.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 201,672 shares in the company, valued at $21,246,145.20. This trade represents a 20.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, EVP Daniel Bartlett sold 3,950 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.14, for a total value of $415,303.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 622,349 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,433,773.86. The trade was a 0.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 69,264 shares of company stock worth $7,401,242 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Profile

Walmart Inc is a multinational retail and technology company that operates supercenters, discount stores, neighborhood markets, e-commerce platforms and membership warehouse clubs. Its merchandise includes groceries, apparel, electronics, home goods, health and beauty products, general merchandise and other consumer products.

Founded by Sam Walton in 1962 and incorporated in 1969, Walmart is headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas. The company serves customers through operations in the United States and international markets, including Mexico, Canada, China, India and several countries in Central America and Africa.