Walmart Inc. $WMT Shares Sold by AQR Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Walmart Inc. by 19.2%, selling 1,022,659 shares, leaving it with approximately 4.31 million shares valued at $371.68 million.
• Despite a recent earnings miss (reported EPS of $0.68 vs. an expected $0.74), Walmart's revenue increased by 4.8% year-over-year to $169.34 billion.
• Several analysts have raised price targets for Walmart, with Telsey Advisory Group increasing theirs to $118.00, maintaining an "outperform" rating for the stock.

AQR Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 19.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,311,382 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 1,022,659 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.05% of Walmart worth $371,684,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 425,961,042 shares of the retailer's stock worth $37,395,120,000 after purchasing an additional 3,224,154 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 30.1% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 33,292,749 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,922,770,000 after purchasing an additional 7,706,201 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 30,874,987 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,710,665,000 after purchasing an additional 387,424 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 29,843,892 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,696,396,000 after purchasing an additional 233,040 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 29,188,142 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,562,427,000 after purchasing an additional 823,020 shares in the last quarter. 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 2,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.37, for a total transaction of $214,214.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 623,918 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,750,895.66. The trade was a 0.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.55, for a total value of $1,293,468.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 919,189 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $90,586,075.95. This trade represents a 1.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 121,382 shares of company stock worth $11,718,441 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMT traded up $1.42 during trading on Thursday, reaching $100.86. 15,629,600 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,735,688. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $76.30 and a fifty-two week high of $105.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market cap of $804.17 billion, a PE ratio of 37.92, a P/E/G ratio of 4.78 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $98.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $95.26.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). Walmart had a return on equity of 21.45% and a net margin of 3.08%.The firm had revenue of $169.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $174.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.67 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Walmart has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.580-0.600 EPS. FY 2026 guidance at 2.520-2.620 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WMT. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price objective (up previously from $112.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Mizuho reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. KeyCorp raised their target price on Walmart from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Walmart from $101.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group raised their target price on Walmart from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $110.76.

About Walmart

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.