Kestra Advisory Services LLC Boosts Stake in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Kestra Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 7.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 936,866 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 67,412 shares during the quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $116,434,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA boosted its stake in Walmart by 253.3% during the 1st quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA now owns 384,034 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $47,728,000 after purchasing an additional 275,337 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 2.9% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 2,416,580 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $300,333,000 after buying an additional 68,632 shares during the period. Vise Technologies Inc. grew its holdings in Walmart by 42.1% in the 4th quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 275,341 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $30,676,000 after buying an additional 81,635 shares in the last quarter. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,855,000. Finally, Winning Points Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $1,761,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart is rolling out more wellness benefits at Sam’s Club, including Weight Watchers perks, which could deepen member loyalty, support renewals, and boost recurring membership revenue. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart is also getting attention for broad price cuts across groceries and household staples, which should help reinforce its reputation as a defensive, inflation-fighting retailer and drive traffic to stores and clubs. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Jim Cramer said Walmart is one of the “greatest companies on earth” and called the recent pullback an “incredible buying opportunity,” helping support sentiment around the stock. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary around Walmart’s health event and its AI shopping efforts highlights longer-term strategic investments, but these items are more thematic than immediate catalysts for the stock. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage comparing Walmart’s AI shopping race with Amazon underscores competitive pressure in retail tech, but it does not point to any near-term operational setback for Walmart. Article Title

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on WMT shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Walmart from $120.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Erste Group Bank cut Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Walmart from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. One research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.85.

Walmart Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ WMT traded up $1.69 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $113.90. 12,452,368 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,901,888. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $94.23 and a 1 year high of $135.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $906.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.97, a PEG ratio of 4.18 and a beta of 0.60. The business has a 50 day moving average of $120.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $121.96.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.66. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.25% and a net margin of 3.13%.The firm had revenue of $177.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $174.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.61 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Walmart has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.750-2.850 EPS and its Q2 2027 guidance at 0.720-0.740 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 3,775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.64, for a total value of $413,891.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 630,009 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,074,186.76. This represents a 0.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP David W. Guggina sold 11,978 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.82, for a total transaction of $1,435,203.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 125,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,985,527.94. This represents a 8.74% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 104,505 shares of company stock valued at $12,858,514 over the last three months. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Walmart 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.