Scarborough Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 6,720 Walmart Inc. $WMT

Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 6,720 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $835,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Merkkuri Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Walmart in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Beacon Financial Strategies CORP purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 57.4% during the 4th quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clayton Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: June U.S. retail sales held up, suggesting consumers are still spending as Walmart heads into the back-to-school season; that could support traffic and sales volumes if the company remains aggressive on pricing. Retail Sales Hold Up as Walmart and Amazon Go Back to School
• Neutral Sentiment: Walmart is also being discussed in multiple market and analyst roundups, with commentary focusing on its strong digital growth and role as a defensive stock, but these pieces do not appear to include a major new business update. Walmart Commands a 36.74X Forward P/E: Is the Stock Worth Buying?
• Neutral Sentiment: An article about AI and retail highlighted that Walmart is investing in automation while still emphasizing workers, which reinforces its long-term strategy but is unlikely to move the stock on its own. Walmart’s people chief says these 10 jobs are still hot in the age of AI
• Negative Sentiment: Some analysts argue Walmart’s premium valuation leaves limited room for disappointment, with one note saying momentum alone may not justify the stock’s high forward P/E. Walmart’s Momentum Cannot Justify The Premium
• Negative Sentiment: Walmart has also been the subject of bearish commentary saying the recent sell-off may not be over, adding to investor caution around the shares. Walmart: The Sell-Off Isn’t Over Yet (Rating Upgrade)

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on WMT shares. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their price target on shares of Walmart from $147.00 to $146.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, June 8th. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Truist Financial set a $140.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $137.00 target price (up from $135.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, May 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.85.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $114.24 on Monday. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $94.43 and a twelve month high of $135.15. The company has a market cap of $909.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.08, a P/E/G ratio of 4.26 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $118.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $122.11.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66. The firm had revenue of $177.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $174.84 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 3.13% and a return on equity of 21.25%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.61 EPS. Walmart has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.750-2.850 EPS and its Q2 2027 guidance at 0.720-0.740 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.19, for a total value of $342,751.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 574,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $67,953,695.07. This represents a 0.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director directly owned 4,174,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 87,145 shares of company stock valued at $10,691,920 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

About Walmart

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.