Weatherly Asset Management L. P. Buys 5,193 Shares of Walmart Inc. $WMT

Weatherly Asset Management L. P. increased its stake in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 7.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 70,530 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,193 shares during the quarter. Weatherly Asset Management L. P.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $8,779,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Renaissance Group LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Group LLC now owns 9,636 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,074,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Calton & Associates Inc. increased its position in shares of Walmart by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Calton & Associates Inc. now owns 27,220 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,033,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. Advocacy Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Advocacy Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,392 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $378,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,561 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $285,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capstone Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Capstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,955 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $552,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,385 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.83, for a total value of $165,964.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 633,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $75,946,336.72. The trade was a 0.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.63, for a total transaction of $2,303,320.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,174,579 shares in the company, valued at $495,230,306.77. The trade was a 0.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 117,246 shares of company stock valued at $14,493,147 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $117.18 on Monday. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $94.23 and a 12-month high of $135.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a market cap of $932.53 billion, a PE ratio of 41.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.37 and a beta of 0.60. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $124.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $122.11.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.66. The company had revenue of $177.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $174.84 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 3.13% and a return on equity of 21.25%. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.61 earnings per share. 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 fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $137.00 target price (down from $140.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Walmart from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Tigress Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued 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 research report on Friday, May 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.85.

Walmart Company Profile

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.