Walmart Inc. $WMT Shares Bought by Clearstead Advisors LLC

Clearstead Advisors LLC increased its position in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 416,092 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,193 shares during the quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $46,357,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 439,957,146 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $49,015,626,000 after acquiring an additional 4,304,436 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 184,805,978 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $19,046,104,000 after acquiring an additional 2,242,364 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 40,298,623 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,153,176,000 after acquiring an additional 634,211 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 27,268,463 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,810,288,000 after acquiring an additional 934,468 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 24,990,692 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,575,541,000 after acquiring an additional 93,459 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.79, for a total transaction of $2,555,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 486,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $62,203,571.56. This represents a 3.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.96, for a total value of $1,600,725.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 687,287 shares in the company, valued at approximately $83,821,522.52. This represents a 1.87% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 126,008 shares of company stock worth $15,896,715. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on WMT shares. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $150.00 price target (up from $145.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Bank of America started coverage on Walmart in a report on Friday, February 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $150.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group set a $141.00 price target on Walmart and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Tigress Financial set a $150.00 price target on Walmart and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, March 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $138.71.

Walmart News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart posted solid first-quarter results, with revenue of $177.8 billion and EPS of $0.66, while e-commerce sales rose 26% and advertising revenue jumped 37%, highlighting continued strength in digital and membership-driven businesses.
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts remained constructive after earnings: Bank of America reiterated a Buy rating and said Walmart is well positioned to gain share in a price-sensitive environment, while BTIG and BNP Paribas Exane also kept positive ratings despite modestly trimming price targets.
• Neutral Sentiment: Walmart disclosed pre-arranged insider sales by CEO John Furner and EVP Christopher James Nicholas, but both transactions were made under 10b5-1 plans, which typically limits how much investors read into them.
• Neutral Sentiment: News reports also noted leadership changes, including the departure of Sam’s Club COO Tom Ward and U.S. stores EVP Cedric Clark, adding some uncertainty but not appearing to change the company’s near-term operating outlook.
• Negative Sentiment: Shares weakened after Walmart issued second-quarter EPS guidance below consensus and reaffirmed full-year targets that also came in below Wall Street expectations, prompting concerns that margin pressure could continue.
• Negative Sentiment: Management said elevated fuel prices are pressuring both consumers and Walmart’s own costs, reinforcing worries that spending could soften and profitability could stay under pressure in the coming quarters.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT stock opened at $120.27 on Monday. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $93.43 and a 1 year high of $135.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.77. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $126.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $120.16. The firm has a market cap of $958.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.20, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.65.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $174.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.61 EPS. Walmart’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. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.