Equitable Trust Co. Has $9.91 Million Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Equitable Trust Co. increased its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 11.6% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 79,774 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 8,262 shares during the quarter. Equitable Trust Co.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $9,914,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $6,458,529,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 188.1% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,663,172 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,199,907,000 after buying an additional 7,614,172 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 103,010,709 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $11,426,753,000 after acquiring an additional 6,517,394 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors acquired a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $592,848,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 439,957,146 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $49,015,626,000 after acquiring an additional 4,304,436 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart is rolling out more wellness benefits at Sam’s Club, including Weight Watchers perks, which could deepen member loyalty, support renewals, and boost recurring membership revenue. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart is also getting attention for broad price cuts across groceries and household staples, which should help reinforce its reputation as a defensive, inflation-fighting retailer and drive traffic to stores and clubs. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Jim Cramer said Walmart is one of the “greatest companies on earth” and called the recent pullback an “incredible buying opportunity,” helping support sentiment around the stock. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary around Walmart’s health event and its AI shopping efforts highlights longer-term strategic investments, but these items are more thematic than immediate catalysts for the stock. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage comparing Walmart’s AI shopping race with Amazon underscores competitive pressure in retail tech, but it does not point to any near-term operational setback for Walmart. Article Title

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, May 22nd. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $137.00 price objective (down from $140.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, May 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.85.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WMT opened at $113.90 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $94.23 and a one year high of $135.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market cap of $906.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.97, a P/E/G ratio of 4.18 and a beta of 0.60. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $120.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $121.96.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.66. Walmart had a net margin of 3.13% and a return on equity of 21.25%. The business had revenue of $177.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $174.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.61 earnings per share. Walmart’s revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.19, for a total transaction of $342,751.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 574,953 shares in the company, valued at $67,953,695.07. This represents a 0.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director directly owned 4,174,579 shares in the company, valued at $495,230,306.77. This represents a 0.46% 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 104,505 shares of company stock worth $12,858,514. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.