Appleton Partners Inc. MA Sells 2,723 Shares of Walmart Inc. $WMT

Key Points

• Appleton Partners Inc. MA has reduced its holdings in Walmart Inc. by 4.0%, selling 2,723 shares to own 65,824 shares valued at approximately $6.44 million.
• Walmart reported $0.68 earnings per share for the last quarter, falling short of the expected $0.74 EPS, and had a revenue of $169.34 billion, below the forecasted $174.02 billion.
• Several institutional investors, including PFS Partners LLC and Operose Advisors LLC, significantly increased their positions in Walmart, highlighting a growing interest in the retailer amongst large financial players.

Appleton Partners Inc. MA decreased its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 65,824 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 2,723 shares during the quarter. Appleton Partners Inc. MA's holdings in Walmart were worth $6,436,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Operose Advisors LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 319.7% during the first quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 319 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. PFS Partners LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 267.8% during the second quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 320 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. boosted its position in Walmart by 98.2% during the first quarter. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. now owns 337 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd boosted its position in Walmart by 432.4% during the first quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 362 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 55.3% during the second quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 323 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Walmart Trading Up 0.6%

NYSE:WMT opened at $102.70 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $100.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $96.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.79. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $78.98 and a 52 week high of $106.11. The firm has a market cap of $818.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.81 and a beta of 0.67.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 21st. The retailer reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $169.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $174.02 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.45% and a net margin of 3.08%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.67 EPS. Walmart has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.580-0.600 EPS. FY 2026 guidance at 2.520-2.620 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.14, for a total value of $1,248,712.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 932,313 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $88,700,258.82. This trade represents a 1.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.96, for a total transaction of $403,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 1,052,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $106,255,856.80. This trade represents a 0.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 151,232 shares of company stock valued at $15,083,877 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on WMT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $117.00 price target on shares of Walmart and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Mizuho reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $111.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Thirty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $112.38.

Walmart Company Profile

Walmart Inc engages in the operation of retail, wholesale, other units, and eCommerce worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam's Club. It operates supercenters, supermarkets, hypermarkets, warehouse clubs, cash and carry stores, and discount stores under Walmart and Walmart Neighborhood Market brands; membership-only warehouse clubs; ecommerce websites, such as walmart.com.mx, walmart.ca, flipkart.com, PhonePe and other sites; and mobile commerce applications.

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