Mariner LLC Increases Holdings in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Mariner LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 7.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,685,015 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 338,581 shares during the quarter. Mariner LLC owned about 0.06% of Walmart worth $521,996,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Beacon Financial Strategies CORP purchased a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Walmart during the third quarter valued at $30,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 57.4% during the fourth quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clayton Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 193.0% during the fourth quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC now owns 293 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Freedom Capital upgraded Walmart from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $137.00 price objective (down from $140.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Craig Hallum set a $150.00 price objective on Walmart in a research note on Friday, March 6th. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $150.00 price objective on Walmart in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.85.

Walmart Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WMT opened at $121.04 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $125.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $121.78. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $93.62 and a 52-week high of $135.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $963.25 billion, a PE ratio of 42.47, a P/E/G ratio of 4.52 and a beta of 0.60.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last released 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. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.25% and a net margin of 3.13%.The business had revenue of $177.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $174.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.61 earnings per share. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Walmart has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.750-2.850 EPS and its Q2 2027 guidance at 0.720-0.740 EPS. Analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.63, for a total transaction of $2,303,320.08. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,174,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $495,230,306.77. The trade was a 0.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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 David W. Guggina sold 11,978 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.82, for a total value of $1,435,203.96. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 125,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,985,527.94. This represents a 8.74% 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 128,986 shares of company stock valued at $15,927,908 in the last ninety days. 0.09% of the stock is currently 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.