AGP Franklin LLC Increases Stock Position in Walmart Inc. $WMT

AGP Franklin LLC lifted its position in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 36.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,303 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,369 shares during the quarter. Walmart comprises about 1.3% of AGP Franklin LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. AGP Franklin LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $2,523,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Beacon Financial Strategies CORP bought a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $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 purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 193.0% during the 4th quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC now owns 293 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sankala Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart plans to acquire Vibe.co to make connected-TV advertising more accessible for smaller advertisers and marketplace sellers, a move that could boost retail media revenue and deepen monetization of Walmart Connect. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Shapermint’s expansion into 1,600 additional Walmart stores highlights continued strength in Walmart’s physical retail reach and its ability to attract growing consumer brands. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart’s long-term nuclear power deal with Constellation supports lower-carbon, reliable energy for logistics operations and signals a broader push to secure cost-stable power for its supply chain. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 2,900 shares under a pre-arranged trading plan, which is routine and appears limited relative to his overall holdings. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Walmart-backed Flipkart’s quick-commerce expansion in India adds to the company’s international growth narrative, but it is an indirect catalyst for WMT shares. Article Title

Walmart Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $119.04 on Thursday. 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 stock has a market cap of $947.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.77, a PEG ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.59. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $124.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $122.21. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $94.23 and a 1 year high of $135.15.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last posted 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $174.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.61 EPS. The company’s quarterly 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. As a group, research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,385 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.83, for a total value of $165,964.55. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 633,784 shares in the company, valued at approximately $75,946,336.72. This trade represents a 0.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 120,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,300,550.91. This represents a 8.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 100,730 shares of company stock worth $12,444,624 over the last ninety days. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, May 18th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $145.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price target (up from $150.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, May 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.85.

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.