SCS Capital Management LLC Decreases Stock Position in Walmart Inc. $WMT

SCS Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 159,836 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 6,388 shares during the quarter. SCS Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $18,103,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Merkkuri Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Walmart during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Sankala Group LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $137.00 target price (up from $135.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price target (up from $150.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, May 29th. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Walmart from a “market perform” rating to a “cautious” rating in a report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane reduced their target price on shares of Walmart from $147.00 to $146.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $138.26.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 3,775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.64, for a total transaction of $413,891.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 630,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,074,186.76. This trade represents a 0.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 business’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 transaction of $2,303,320.08. Following the sale, the director owned 4,174,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $495,230,306.77. This represents a 0.46% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 54,164 shares of company stock valued at $6,389,402 over the last three months. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Key Walmart News

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart reported fiscal second-quarter adjusted EPS of $0.81, above the $0.74 consensus, while revenue rose 5.9% year over year to $187.94 billion and exceeded estimates. Walmart quarterly earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Growth areas remained strong: global e-commerce increased 23%, advertising revenue rose 38%, and global membership revenue grew 17%. Gross margin also benefited from tariff-refund impacts. Walmart reports second-quarter revenue growth
• Positive Sentiment: Management raised its fiscal-year earnings outlook and expects to use approximately $2.9 billion in tariff refunds to support lower prices, potentially strengthening customer traffic and market share. Walmart tariff refunds and prices
• Neutral Sentiment: UBS analyst Michael Lasser remained bullish, citing Walmart’s e-commerce, advertising and membership momentum, while technical coverage noted the stock had entered oversold territory near potential support around $100. Analyst remains bullish on Walmart
• Negative Sentiment: U.S. comparable sales grew 2.6%, well below expectations near 3.5%–3.7% and the weakest growth in more than six years. Higher gas and other living costs appear to be causing consumers to make trade-offs, raising concerns about the broader U.S. consumer. Reuters report on Walmart sales miss
• Negative Sentiment: Fiscal third-quarter EPS guidance of $0.62–$0.64 and revenue guidance of $183.1–$184.5 billion fell short of consensus estimates of $0.68 and $188.2 billion, respectively. The timing of Flipkart’s major promotional event is also expected to create a sales headwind. Walmart guidance disappoints investors
• Negative Sentiment: Gordon Haskett downgraded Walmart from “buy” to “accumulate.” The stock’s premium valuation amplified the market’s reaction, while rising bond yields pressured the broader equity market. U.S. stocks slide as Walmart disappoints

Walmart Stock Down 9.2%

Walmart stock opened at $103.84 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $826.37 billion, a PE ratio of 36.44, a P/E/G ratio of 4.27 and a beta of 0.61. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $113.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $121.39. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $95.42 and a 1-year high of $135.15.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 20th. The retailer reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $187.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $186.62 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.25% and a net margin of 3.13%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.68 EPS. Walmart has set its Q3 2027 guidance at 0.620-0.640 EPS and its FY 2027 guidance at 2.800-2.870 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.88 EPS 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.