Krilogy Financial LLC Increases Stake in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Krilogy Financial LLC boosted its stake in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 4.1% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 131,312 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 5,224 shares during the quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $16,390,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Beacon Financial Strategies CORP purchased a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC raised 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 purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 193.0% in the fourth quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC now owns 293 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sankala Group LLC purchased a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, March 6th. UBS Group set a $141.00 price target on shares of Walmart and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective (up from $145.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Walmart from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.85.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT opened at $115.78 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $123.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $122.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market cap of $921.39 billion, a PE ratio of 40.62, a P/E/G ratio of 4.44 and a beta of 0.59. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $94.23 and a 1 year high of $135.15.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66. Walmart had a net margin of 3.13% and a return on equity of 21.25%. The company had revenue of $177.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $174.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.61 EPS. Walmart’s revenue 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. Sell-side analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.63, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 business’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 owned 125,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,985,527.94. The trade was a 8.74% 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 100,730 shares of company stock valued at $12,444,624. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart is expanding its Shapermint partnership into 1,600 more U.S. stores, adding another growth driver in apparel and broadening its non-grocery assortment. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Walmart plans to acquire Vibe.co suggest the company is investing to grow its connected-TV and retail-media advertising business, which could improve high-margin revenue. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst-style articles comparing Walmart with Walmart de Mexico focus on relative valuation rather than a new operational catalyst, so the stock impact appears limited. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: News that Walmart Business is working to reduce friction for small businesses is supportive of the long-term strategy, but it is not likely to move the shares much on its own. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple reports say Amazon has overtaken Walmart as the largest U.S. retailer by gross merchandise value, highlighting competitive pressure and potentially tempering investor sentiment around Walmart’s retail dominance. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Another report emphasizing Amazon’s rise as the first retailer larger than Walmart since the Sears era may reinforce concerns that Walmart is losing some scale advantage. Article Title

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.