Bellars Harris Wealth Management LLC Takes $8.76 Million Position in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Key Points

• Bellars Harris Wealth Management initiated an $8.76 million Walmart position by purchasing 77,362 shares in the second quarter, making Walmart approximately 1.8% of its portfolio. Institutional investors collectively own 26.76% of Walmart.
• Walmart’s fundamentals remain mixed: revenue has exceeded expectations for 25 consecutive quarters, with e-commerce and advertising supporting growth, but price cuts, moderating same-store sales and margin pressures pose risks.
• Walmart shares opened at $114.30, while analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $138.50. However, the stock’s elevated valuation—about 40 times earnings—has prompted caution ahead of earnings.

Bellars Harris Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 77,362 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $8,762,000. Walmart comprises about 1.8% of Bellars Harris Wealth Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Advisortrust Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 20.2% during the 1st quarter. Advisortrust Partners LLC now owns 67,142 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,344,000 after buying an additional 11,283 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA raised its position in shares of Walmart by 253.3% during the first quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA now owns 384,034 shares of the retailer's stock worth $47,728,000 after acquiring an additional 275,337 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 2.9% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 2,416,580 shares of the retailer's stock worth $300,333,000 after acquiring an additional 68,632 shares during the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 42.1% during the fourth quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 275,341 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $30,676,000 after acquiring an additional 81,635 shares during the period. Finally, HORAN Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 55.7% during the first quarter. HORAN Wealth LLC now owns 81,544 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $9,931,000 after acquiring an additional 29,184 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart enters the report with a strong earnings track record, having exceeded revenue expectations for 25 consecutive quarters. Analysts also see potential for another earnings beat, supported by e-commerce momentum and a growing contribution from Walmart Connect advertising. Walmart Q2 Preview
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s grocery leadership, expanding online business and higher-margin retail-media operations remain important long-term strengths. Advertising growth could help offset the cost of competitive pricing and faster delivery. DA Davidson also reiterated a Buy rating. Retail stagnates, ad dollars help Walmart stay the course
• Neutral Sentiment: Options traders expect a significant post-earnings move, highlighting elevated volatility and the possibility that results or guidance could materially change the stock’s near-term direction. Barchart data ahead of Walmart earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Thousands of price reductions may support customer traffic but could slow sales growth and pressure profit margins. Same-store sales momentum has moderated, increasing investor dependence on advertising and other higher-margin businesses. Walmart sales growth expected to slow
• Negative Sentiment: Several previews characterize WMT as expensive ahead of earnings, with a price-to-earnings ratio near 40 and a cautious outlook already weighing on sentiment. Investors may require a clear earnings or guidance upside to justify the valuation. Walmart valuation concern ahead of Q2 earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Walmart’s grocery advantage faces a margin test as shoppers increasingly purchase additional goods from Amazon, while elevated costs and cautious consumers could limit profitability. Walmart grocery margin test

Walmart Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $114.30 on Thursday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $114.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $121.49. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $95.42 and a 52-week high of $135.15. The firm has a market cap of $909.61 billion, a PE ratio of 40.11, a P/E/G ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.77.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.66. The firm had revenue of $177.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $174.84 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.25% and a net margin of 3.13%.The business's revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.61 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WMT. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $135.00 price target (down from $137.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their price objective on shares of Walmart from $147.00 to $146.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Walmart from a "market perform" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wolfe Research reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $137.00 price objective (up from $135.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, May 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $138.50.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.63, for a total value of $2,303,320.08. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,174,579 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $495,230,306.77. This represents a 0.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Latriece Watkins sold 11,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.97, for a total transaction of $1,308,670.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 120,203 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,300,550.91. This represents a 8.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 54,164 shares of company stock worth $6,389,402. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Walmart Company Profile

Walmart is a multinational retail corporation that operates a broad portfolio of store formats and digital services. Its core business includes large-format supercenters, discount department stores, neighborhood grocery stores and a membership warehouse chain, Sam’s Club. The company’s merchandising mix covers groceries, household goods, apparel, electronics and pharmacy services, supplemented by private-label products and category-specific offerings. Walmart pairs its physical store network with online platforms and mobile applications to provide omnichannel shopping, fulfillment and delivery options for consumers and businesses.

The company was founded by Sam Walton, who opened the first store in Rogers, Arkansas in 1962; it is headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas.

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