Benchstone Capital Management LP Sells 107,746 Shares of Walmart Inc. $WMT

Key Points

• Benchstone Capital Management LP has reduced its stake in Walmart Inc. by 29.1%, selling 107,746 shares and holding 262,118 shares worth approximately $23 million.
• Walmart's quarterly earnings fell short of expectations, reporting $0.68 EPS, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 EPS, with revenues of $169.34 billion against an expected $174.02 billion.
• Several institutional investors have significantly increased their positions in Walmart, with notable increases from GAMMA Investing LLC and Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board by 9,896.9% and 28,684.8%, respectively.

Benchstone Capital Management LP lowered its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 29.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 262,118 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 107,746 shares during the quarter. Walmart comprises approximately 2.4% of Benchstone Capital Management LP's portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Benchstone Capital Management LP's holdings in Walmart were worth $23,011,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the first quarter worth $2,532,331,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 9,896.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,939,728 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $697,029,000 after acquiring an additional 7,860,306 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Walmart by 30.1% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 33,292,749 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,922,770,000 after acquiring an additional 7,706,201 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Walmart by 527.1% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,739,038 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $591,620,000 after acquiring an additional 5,664,484 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board increased its stake in Walmart by 28,684.8% in the first quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 4,229,354 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $371,295,000 after acquiring an additional 4,214,661 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Walmart Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $96.97 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $773.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.45, a P/E/G ratio of 4.66 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.79. The company has a fifty day moving average of $98.12 and a 200 day moving average of $95.36. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.67 and a fifty-two week high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last released 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 net margin of 3.08% and a return on equity of 21.45%. The company had revenue of $169.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $174.02 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.67 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Walmart has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.580-0.600 EPS. FY 2026 guidance at 2.520-2.620 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on WMT shares. Erste Group Bank raised Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $106.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Walmart from $101.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. One 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $110.59.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.96, for a total value of $403,840.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 1,052,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at $106,255,856.80. This represents a 0.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the 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 trade represents a 0.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 101,966 shares of company stock worth $9,858,673 over the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company 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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