Baird Financial Group Inc. Purchases 101,063 Shares of Walmart Inc. $WMT

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Walmart by 4.7%, acquiring an additional 101,063 shares during the 1st quarter, bringing their total holdings to 2.27 million shares worth approximately $199.66 million.
• Walmart's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $0.68, which was below analysts' expectations of $0.74, alongside revenue of $169.34 billion compared to a consensus estimate of $174.02 billion.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Buy" for Walmart, with a target price averaging $110.59, following several upgrades from different investment firms.

Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 4.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,274,229 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 101,063 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Walmart were worth $199,655,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Operose Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 319.7% during the 1st quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 319 shares of the retailer's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. boosted its stake in Walmart by 98.2% during the 1st quarter. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. now owns 337 shares of the retailer's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd lifted its stake in Walmart by 432.4% in the first quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 362 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Walmart in the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Lipe & Dalton lifted its stake in Walmart by 95.2% in the first quarter. Lipe & Dalton now owns 410 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Mizuho reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $110.59.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,655 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.38, for a total value of $166,128.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 647,578 shares of the company's stock, valued at $65,003,879.64. The trade was a 0.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 1,052,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $106,255,856.80. The trade was a 0.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 101,966 shares of company stock valued at $9,858,673 over the last 90 days. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT stock opened at $96.97 on Friday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $98.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $95.42. 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 $773.85 billion, a PE ratio of 36.45, a P/E/G ratio of 4.62 and a beta of 0.66. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.67 and a 12 month high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 21st. The retailer reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $169.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $174.02 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.45% and a net margin of 3.08%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm 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. Equities research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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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