Hanson & Doremus Investment Management Purchases 10,330 Shares of Walmart Inc. $WMT

Hanson & Doremus Investment Management increased its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 80.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 23,114 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,330 shares during the period. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management’s holdings in Walmart were worth $2,873,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at $6,458,529,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 188.1% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,663,172 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,199,907,000 after acquiring an additional 7,614,172 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 6.8% in the 4th 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 purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $592,848,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 439,957,146 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $49,015,626,000 after purchasing an additional 4,304,436 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Key Walmart News

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart’s long-term nuclear power deal with Constellation Energy supports its sustainability strategy and may improve power-cost stability for operations. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart’s planned acquisition of Vibe.co could expand its connected-TV advertising reach and boost higher-margin ad revenue. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart’s Medicare support push and new weight-management coverage guidance may strengthen pharmacy traffic and customer loyalty. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart will sell Life Extension supplements in 4,000+ stores, adding another health-and-wellness product line. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: An executive sold 2,900 shares under a pre-arranged trading plan; the sale appears routine and small relative to the executive’s holdings. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Walmart faces a proposed lawsuit alleging AI-driven gas-price inflation in California, which could create legal and reputational risk. Article Title

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WMT. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Truist Financial set a $140.00 target price on Walmart in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, June 8th. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price target on Walmart from $147.00 to $146.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, May 22nd. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $138.85.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.16, for a total value of $2,391,274.56. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,213,406 shares in the company, valued at approximately $518,923,082.96. This represents a 0.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 120,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,300,550.91. This trade represents a 8.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 120,146 shares of company stock valued at $14,835,898 in the last quarter. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT stock opened at $119.42 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $950.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.90, a P/E/G ratio of 4.37 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.77. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $94.23 and a 52 week high of $135.15. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $124.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $122.18.

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

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.