Sachem Hill LLC Takes $533,000 Position in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Sachem Hill LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 4,704 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $533,000. Walmart comprises about 0.1% of Sachem Hill LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth approximately $6,458,529,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Walmart by 188.1% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,663,172 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,199,907,000 after acquiring an additional 7,614,172 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in Walmart by 54.0% in the 2nd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 18,607,297 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,107,462,000 after acquiring an additional 6,525,224 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 103,010,709 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $11,426,753,000 after acquiring an additional 6,517,394 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors acquired a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth $592,848,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Walmart News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Unusually heavy call-option activity may indicate increased near-term bullish interest. Investors purchased 166,747 call options, about 33% above the typical daily volume. However, options activity is speculative and does not guarantee further gains.
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart is rolling out tap-to-pay and NFC capabilities across its U.S. stores and clubs. The move could improve checkout convenience, support mobile-wallet adoption and strengthen customer engagement as digital sales and membership become more important. Can Walmart’s Tap to Pay Push Strengthen Customer Engagement?
• Positive Sentiment: The company is introducing Scenario, a mostly sub-$25 fashion brand aimed at younger shoppers. Walmart hopes the offering will attract value-conscious consumers and improve its competitive position against Amazon in apparel. Walmart Aims to Take On Amazon With Trendier Apparel
• Neutral Sentiment: Walmart’s latest quarter exceeded expectations, with adjusted earnings of $0.81 per share versus roughly $0.74 expected and revenue of $187.94 billion, up 5.9% year over year. Full-year sales guidance was also raised to 4%-5%, but the outlook implies moderating growth.
• Negative Sentiment: U.S. comparable sales growth slowed to 2.6%, compared with 4.1% in the prior quarter and 4.6% a year earlier. Investors remain concerned that cautious consumers and uneven spending are pressuring traffic and discretionary purchases.
• Negative Sentiment: Several analysts reduced Walmart’s price targets or issued more cautious forecasts after the earnings report. Critics also argue that the stock remains expensive at roughly 36 times forward earnings despite decelerating growth, limiting upside.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP David W. Guggina sold 11,978 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.82, for a total transaction of $1,435,203.96. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 125,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,985,527.94. This represents a 8.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a 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 the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $14,300,550.91. The trade was a 8.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 57,064 shares of company stock valued at $6,697,788 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Up 2.7%

NASDAQ WMT opened at $106.49 on Tuesday. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $95.42 and a 12 month high of $135.15. The company has a market capitalization of $847.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.44, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.61. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $113.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $121.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The retailer reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $187.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $186.64 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 3.00% and a return on equity of 21.83%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.68 earnings per share. Walmart has set its Q3 2027 guidance at 0.620-0.640 EPS and its FY 2027 guidance at 2.800-2.870 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on WMT shares. Gordon Haskett cut Walmart from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price objective (up from $150.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $128.00 price objective (down from $137.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday. Guggenheim set a $130.00 target price on shares of Walmart and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $113.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.88.

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.