Ascent Group LLC Buys 13,689 Shares of Walmart Inc. $WMT

Key Points

• Ascent Group LLC increased its stake in Walmart Inc. by 10.7%, acquiring an additional 13,689 shares to bring their total holdings to 141,067 shares, valued at approximately $12.4 million.
• Walmart's latest earnings report revealed an EPS of $0.68, which fell short of the analyst consensus estimate of $0.74, and the company's revenue of $169.34 billion also missed expectations.
• Analysts currently show a positive outlook with a consensus average target price of $110.76 for Walmart's shares, with one analyst rating it a Strong Buy and many others giving Buy ratings.

Ascent Group LLC boosted its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 10.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 141,067 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 13,689 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $12,384,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Walmart by 12.8% in the first quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 68,026 shares of the retailer's stock worth $5,972,000 after acquiring an additional 7,734 shares during the period. Strait & Sound Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 37.0% in the first quarter. Strait & Sound Wealth Management LLC now owns 25,876 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,272,000 after purchasing an additional 6,990 shares in the last quarter. Hamilton Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 6.6% in the first quarter. Hamilton Capital LLC now owns 7,653 shares of the retailer's stock worth $672,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares in the last quarter. Voleon Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 56.4% in the first quarter. Voleon Capital Management LP now owns 194,280 shares of the retailer's stock worth $17,056,000 after purchasing an additional 70,092 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 11.2% in the first quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 81,456 shares of the retailer's stock worth $7,169,000 after purchasing an additional 8,191 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on WMT shares. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $117.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Evercore ISI reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $110.00 price target (up previously from $108.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $117.00 price target on shares of Walmart and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $106.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Walmart from $111.00 to $109.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $110.76.

Walmart Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $100.45 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $76.30 and a 12 month high of $105.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $800.85 billion, a PE ratio of 37.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.83 and a beta of 0.65. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $98.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $95.17.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 21st. The retailer reported $0.68 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 company had revenue of $169.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $174.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.67 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Walmart has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.580-0.600 EPS. FY 2026 guidance at 2.520-2.620 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.85, for a total value of $1,258,031.25. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 945,434 shares of the company's stock, valued at $90,619,848.90. This represents a 1.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.58, for a total transaction of $1,855,781.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,412,398 shares in the company, valued at $421,737,000.84. This represents a 0.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 121,382 shares of company stock valued at $11,718,441 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

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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