Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Sells 350,103 Shares of Walmart Inc. $WMT

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. lowered its stake in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 44.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 437,593 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 350,103 shares during the quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $48,752,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Renaissance Group LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Group LLC now owns 9,636 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,074,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Calton & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in Walmart by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Calton & Associates Inc. now owns 27,220 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,033,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Advocacy Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Advocacy Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,392 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $378,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Walmart by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,561 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $285,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Finally, Capstone Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Capstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,955 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $552,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $155.00 target price (up from $150.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $120.00 price target on Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, April 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $138.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Argus upgraded Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $138.85.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WMT opened at $121.04 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $963.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.47, a P/E/G ratio of 4.52 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $93.62 and a 1-year high of $135.15. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $125.28 and its 200 day moving average is $121.78.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66. The company 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%.Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, CEO John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.96, for a total transaction of $1,600,725.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 687,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $83,821,522.52. This trade represents a 1.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Latriece Watkins sold 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.97, for a total value of $1,308,670.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 120,203 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,300,550.91. This represents a 8.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 128,986 shares of company stock worth $15,927,908 in the last quarter. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.