Beck Bode LLC Invests $5.80 Million in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Key Points

• Beck Bode LLC has invested approximately $5.8 million to acquire 66,071 shares of Walmart Inc. during the first quarter.
• Walmart's CEO, C. Douglas McMillon, sold 19,416 shares for about $1.86 million, reducing his ownership by 0.44% and leaving him with shares valued at approximately $421.7 million.
• The company's latest earnings report showed earnings per share (EPS) of $0.68, missing analyst expectations of $0.74, while revenue of $169.34 billion was also below estimates.

Beck Bode LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 66,071 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $5,800,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 3,224,154 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 7,706,201 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 387,424 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 233,040 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Walmart by 2.9% in the first 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 during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.58, for a total transaction of $1,855,781.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,412,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $421,737,000.84. The trade was a 0.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.30, for a total transaction of $216,260.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 626,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,547,399.40. The trade was a 0.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 101,966 shares of company stock valued at $9,858,673. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $96.10 on Thursday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $766.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.13, a PEG ratio of 4.62 and a beta of 0.66. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $98.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $95.50. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.67 and a 52-week high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 21st. The retailer reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $169.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $174.02 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.45% and a net margin of 3.08%.The business's revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $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. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a yield of 90.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Walmart's payout ratio is presently 35.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on WMT. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 target price (up from $112.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and issued a $117.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Mizuho restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $110.59.

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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