J. Derek Lewis & Associates Inc. Acquires New Holdings in Walmart Inc. $WMT

J. Derek Lewis & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 11,278 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,256,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.0% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Walmart by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 184,805,978 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $19,046,104,000 after purchasing an additional 2,242,364 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Walmart by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 103,010,709 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $11,426,753,000 after purchasing an additional 6,517,394 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,458,529,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 40,626,852 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,526,238,000 after purchasing an additional 328,229 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target (up from $145.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, May 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $137.00 target price (down from $140.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Craig Hallum set a $150.00 target price on Walmart in a report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane dropped their target price on Walmart from $147.00 to $146.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.85.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.92, for a total value of $359,368.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 577,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $71,607,543.76. This trade represents a 0.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Latriece Watkins sold 11,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.97, for a total transaction of $1,308,670.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 120,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,300,550.91. This represents a 8.38% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 117,246 shares of company stock worth $14,493,147. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WMT opened at $117.18 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $932.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.12, a PEG ratio of 4.37 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 12-month low of $94.23 and a 12-month high of $135.15. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $124.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $122.11.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.66. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.25% and a net margin of 3.13%.The firm had revenue of $177.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $174.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.61 EPS. 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. As a group, equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.