CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. Sells 81,655 Shares of Walmart Inc. $WMT

CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. reduced its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 92.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,995 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 81,655 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up about 2.0% of CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $869,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Merkkuri Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Entrust Financial LLC bought a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 57.4% in the fourth quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Clayton Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 193.0% during the 4th quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC now owns 293 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sankala Group LLC bought a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on WMT shares. Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 target price (up from $150.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, May 29th. Mizuho set a $130.00 target price on Walmart in a research note on Monday. Erste Group Bank lowered Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Freedom Capital raised Walmart from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, June 8th. One equities research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.56.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 3,775 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.64, for a total value of $413,891.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 630,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,074,186.76. The trade was a 0.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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 value of $2,303,320.08. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,174,579 shares in the company, valued at approximately $495,230,306.77. This represents a 0.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 have sold 67,729 shares of company stock worth $8,124,931 over the last quarter. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $111.20 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $95.42 and a fifty-two week high of $135.15. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $115.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $121.93. The stock has a market cap of $884.94 billion, a PE ratio of 39.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.14 and a beta of 0.60. 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 (NASDAQ:WMT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $174.84 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.61 earnings per share. The business’s 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. Analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.