Legal & General Group Plc Decreases Stock Position in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Legal & General Group Plc decreased its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,333,995 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 516,175 shares during the period. Walmart makes up about 0.6% of Legal & General Group Plc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.33% of Walmart worth $2,574,938,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 28.8% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 98,150 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,868,000 after acquiring an additional 21,939 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,849 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $800,000 after buying an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 16.1% during the first quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 219,573 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $19,276,000 after buying an additional 30,412 shares during the last quarter. Noesis Capital Mangement Corp boosted its position in Walmart by 11.4% in the first quarter. Noesis Capital Mangement Corp now owns 2,750 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $241,000 after buying an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Opes Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 12.8% in the 1st quarter. Opes Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,433 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $301,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.33, for a total value of $222,926.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 621,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $62,998,684.94. This trade represents a 0.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.75, for a total value of $431,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 1,044,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $112,540,026.25. This trade represents a 0.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 133,888 shares of company stock valued at $13,835,383. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on WMT. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $118.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, November 14th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $111.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Walmart from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of Walmart in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $120.00 price target for the company. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their target price on Walmart from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Thirty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $115.18.

Walmart Stock Up 6.4%

WMT opened at $107.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.79. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $103.49 and its 200-day moving average is $99.85. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $79.81 and a one year high of $109.57. The company has a market capitalization of $853.40 billion, a PE ratio of 40.24, a P/E/G ratio of 4.83 and a beta of 0.67.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The retailer reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $179.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $175.15 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 3.08% and a return on equity of 21.45%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.58 earnings per share. Walmart has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.580-2.630 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Company Profile

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.