Castleark Management LLC Reduces Stake in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Key Points

• Castleark Management LLC cut its Walmart stake by 19.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 27,990 shares and ending with 113,270 shares worth about $12.6 million.
• Wall Street remains largely bullish on Walmart, with an average Moderate Buy rating and a consensus price target of $138.85 despite HSBC recently downgrading the stock to hold.
• Walmart reported Q1 earnings of $0.66 per share, matching estimates, while revenue of $177.75 billion beat expectations and rose 7.4% year over year.

Castleark Management LLC lessened its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT - Free Report) by 19.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 113,270 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 27,990 shares during the period. Castleark Management LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $12,619,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Beacon Financial Strategies CORP purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 57.4% in the 4th quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Finally, Clayton Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 193.0% in the 4th quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC now owns 293 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Bank of America assumed coverage on Walmart in a report on Friday, February 27th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $150.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $138.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 20th. HSBC cut shares of Walmart from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their target price for the company from $122.00 to $131.00 in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $138.85.

Walmart Trading Up 0.4%

WMT opened at $121.04 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $93.62 and a one year high of $135.15. The company has a market cap of $963.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.47, a PEG ratio of 4.50 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.77. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $125.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $121.66.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.66. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.25% and a net margin of 3.13%.The business had revenue of $177.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $174.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.61 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Walmart has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.750-2.850 EPS and its Q2 2027 guidance at 0.720-0.740 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.92, for a total transaction of $359,368.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 577,853 shares in the company, valued at $71,607,543.76. This trade represents a 0.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP David W. Guggina sold 11,978 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.82, for a total value of $1,435,203.96. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 125,067 shares in the company, valued at $14,985,527.94. This represents a 8.74% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 128,986 shares of company stock worth $15,927,908 over the last ninety days. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart 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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