Holocene Advisors LP Makes New $273.78 Million Investment in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Holocene Advisors LP bought a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 2,800,000 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $273,784,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Access Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Walmart in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. PFS Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 267.8% during the 2nd quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 320 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 55.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 323 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in Walmart in the second quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Harbor Asset Planning Inc. bought a new position in Walmart during the second quarter valued at approximately $46,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $125.00 price target (up previously from $115.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Walmart from $128.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Walmart in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $129.00 target price for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Thirty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $119.31.

Walmart Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of WMT stock opened at $116.70 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $930.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.34 and a beta of 0.64. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $79.81 and a 1 year high of $116.95. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $106.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $101.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The retailer reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 3.26% and a return on equity of 21.31%. The firm had revenue of $179.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $175.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.58 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Walmart has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.580-2.630 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.78, for a total value of $1,414,612.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 892,940 shares in the company, valued at approximately $96,241,073.20. This represents a 1.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.21, for a total value of $2,003,925.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,373,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $451,396,778.96. This trade represents a 0.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 128,013 shares of company stock valued at $13,553,747. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Walmart

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.