Jennison Associates LLC Sells 426,909 Shares of Walmart Inc. $WMT

Jennison Associates LLC decreased its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 24,450,071 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 426,909 shares during the quarter. Walmart accounts for 1.4% of Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $2,390,728,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 397,264.9% in the second quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 104,514,912 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $10,496,702,000 after acquiring an additional 104,488,610 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Walmart in the first quarter valued at about $2,532,331,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Walmart by 30.1% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 33,292,749 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,922,770,000 after acquiring an additional 7,706,201 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Walmart by 527.1% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,739,038 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $591,620,000 after acquiring an additional 5,664,484 shares during the period. Finally, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board increased its stake in Walmart by 28,684.8% in the first quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 4,229,354 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $371,295,000 after acquiring an additional 4,214,661 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.33, for a total transaction of $222,926.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 621,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $62,998,684.94. This represents a 0.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.18, for a total transaction of $2,081,006.88. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,354,162 shares in the company, valued at $466,679,083.16. This trade represents a 0.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 151,038 shares of company stock valued at $15,525,280 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $103.28 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $823.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.83, a P/E/G ratio of 4.92 and a beta of 0.67. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $79.81 and a 1-year high of $109.57. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $102.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $98.98.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 21st. The retailer reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $169.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $174.02 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.45% and a net margin of 3.08%.Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.67 earnings per share. Walmart has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.580-0.600 EPS. FY 2026 guidance at 2.520-2.620 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 target price (up previously from $112.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, August 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $101.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $129.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Thirty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $113.07.

Walmart Company Profile

Walmart Inc engages in the operation of retail, wholesale, other units, and eCommerce worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam's Club. It operates supercenters, supermarkets, hypermarkets, warehouse clubs, cash and carry stores, and discount stores under Walmart and Walmart Neighborhood Market brands; membership-only warehouse clubs; ecommerce websites, such as walmart.com.mx, walmart.ca, flipkart.com, PhonePe and other sites; and mobile commerce applications.