Argus Investors Counsel Inc. Purchases 4,384 Shares of Walmart Inc. $WMT

Key Points

• Argus Investors Counsel Inc. increased its stake in Walmart Inc. by 39.6% during the second quarter, acquiring an additional 4,384 shares to hold a total of 15,448 shares valued at approximately $1.51 million.
• Walmart's earnings report showed $0.68 earnings per share, falling short of estimates by $0.06, while revenues reached $169.34 billion compared to expectations of $174.02 billion.
• Several brokerages have recently adjusted their price targets for Walmart, with JPMorgan reducing its target from $130 to $127, while Tigress Financial raised its target from $120 to $125.

Argus Investors Counsel Inc. raised its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 39.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,448 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 4,384 shares during the quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,511,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Operose Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 319.7% in the 1st quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 319 shares of the retailer's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. PFS Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 267.8% in the 2nd quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 320 shares of the retailer's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 98.2% in the 1st quarter. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. now owns 337 shares of the retailer's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 432.4% in the 1st quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 362 shares of the retailer's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 55.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 323 shares of the retailer's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $103.14 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $822.32 billion, a PE ratio of 38.77, a P/E/G ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $100.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $96.19. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $78.98 and a 1-year high of $106.11.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 21st. The retailer reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 net margin of 3.08% and a return on equity of 21.45%. Walmart's quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.67 earnings per share. 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 anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WMT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Walmart from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on Walmart from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price target (up from $112.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Walmart from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $110.00 price objective (up from $108.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Twenty-nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $112.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.83, for a total value of $415,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 1,048,455 shares in the company, valued at $108,861,082.65. This represents a 0.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CTO Suresh Kumar sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.47, for a total value of $3,104,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer owned 1,787,200 shares of the company's stock, valued at $184,921,584. This trade represents a 1.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 151,232 shares of company stock worth $15,077,519. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart 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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