Advisory Alpha LLC Buys 14,730 Shares of Walmart Inc. $WMT

Key Points

• Advisory Alpha LLC boosted its Walmart stake by 39.3% in the fourth quarter, buying 14,730 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 52,199 shares worth about $5.8 million.
• Several other institutional investors also increased their Walmart positions, while institutions now own 26.76% of the company. Meanwhile, insider selling continued, including trades by Director C. Douglas McMillon and EVP John D. Rainey.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive on Walmart, with multiple firms raising or reiterating buy ratings and a consensus price target of $138.71. The company also recently reported quarterly revenue of $177.75 billion and EPS of $0.66, both above or in line with expectations.

Advisory Alpha LLC increased its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT - Free Report) by 39.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 52,199 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 14,730 shares during the quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $5,816,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 188.1% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,663,172 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,199,907,000 after buying an additional 7,614,172 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 439,957,146 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $49,015,626,000 after buying an additional 4,304,436 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 20.5% in the third quarter. Amundi now owns 23,497,921 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,413,236,000 after buying an additional 4,004,277 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the third quarter valued at $294,621,000. Finally, Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1,061.8% in the fourth quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,042,724 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $338,989,000 after buying an additional 2,780,817 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.21, for a total value of $2,566,989.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,193,995 shares in the company, valued at $554,488,078.95. This trade represents a 0.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 486,764 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $62,203,571.56. The trade was a 3.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 126,008 shares of company stock worth $15,896,715. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $120.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Roth Mkm reissued a "buy" rating and set a $138.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 20th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $150.00 price objective (up from $145.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday. Finally, DA Davidson set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Walmart and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $138.71.

Key Headlines Impacting Walmart

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

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $120.27 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $93.43 and a 52-week high of $135.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $958.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a fifty day moving average of $126.77 and a 200-day moving average of $120.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.77.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, meeting 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $174.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.61 EPS. The firm'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. Equities research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current year.

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.

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