Clark Capital Management Group Inc. Sells 157,548 Shares of Walmart Inc. $WMT

Key Points

• Clark Capital Management Group Inc. reduced its stake in Walmart Inc. by 18.0%, selling 157,548 shares and now holds 719,561 shares valued at $63.17 million.
• Walmart reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, missing estimates of $0.74, with a revenue of $169.34 billion compared to expected $174.02 billion.
• The stock has been rated as a "Buy" by the majority of analysts, with a target price boost to $118.00 from Telsey Advisory Group, reflecting positive sentiment despite recent earnings misses.

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. reduced its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 18.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 719,561 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 157,548 shares during the quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc.'s holdings in Walmart were worth $63,170,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Operose Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 319.7% in the 1st quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 319 shares of the retailer's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 98.2% in the 1st quarter. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. now owns 337 shares of the retailer's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 432.4% in the 1st quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 362 shares of the retailer's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Lipe & Dalton boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 95.2% in the 1st quarter. Lipe & Dalton now owns 410 shares of the retailer's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $99.30 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $792.42 billion, a PE ratio of 37.33, a P/E/G ratio of 4.66 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $98.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $95.29. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $76.30 and a 1-year high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 21st. The retailer reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $169.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $174.02 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 3.08% and a return on equity of 21.45%. Walmart's quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $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. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price target on Walmart from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Mizuho restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and issued a $117.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, May 16th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $111.00 to $109.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $110.76.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.97, for a total value of $1,863,353.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,392,985 shares in the company, valued at $421,594,770.45. This represents a 0.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,655 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.38, for a total value of $166,128.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 647,578 shares of the company's stock, valued at $65,003,879.64. This trade represents a 0.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 121,382 shares of company stock worth $11,718,441. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate 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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