Fred Alger Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Key Points

• Fred Alger Management LLC reduced its stake in Walmart by 8.2%, selling 26,821 shares and leaving it with 300,680 shares valued at approximately $26.47 million.
• Analysts have mixed sentiments about Walmart, with JPMorgan lowering their price target from $130.00 to $127.00, while Goldman Sachs raised theirs from $101.00 to $114.00 and maintained a "buy" rating.
• Walmart's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $0.68, falling short of the $0.74 consensus estimate, with revenues of $169.34 billion, below analyst expectations.

Fred Alger Management LLC lessened its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 8.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 300,680 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 26,821 shares during the quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $26,469,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Night Squared LP purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 1st quarter valued at $1,052,000. Monument Capital Management grew its stake in Walmart by 94.2% during the 1st quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 55,004 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,829,000 after purchasing an additional 26,685 shares in the last quarter. Ally Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart during the 1st quarter worth $2,107,000. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management grew its stake in Walmart by 34.6% during the 1st quarter. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management now owns 38,213 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,355,000 after purchasing an additional 9,831 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Walmart by 11.8% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 7,959,752 shares of the retailer's stock worth $698,787,000 after purchasing an additional 838,689 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Walmart Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE:WMT traded up $1.75 on Monday, hitting $102.26. 13,673,692 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,959,946. The firm's 50-day moving average is $98.38 and its 200 day moving average is $95.22. The company has a market capitalization of $815.33 billion, a PE ratio of 38.44, a P/E/G ratio of 4.83 and a beta of 0.65. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $76.49 and a 1-year high of $105.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.79.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 21st. The retailer reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $169.34 billion for 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 company's revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company 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. Sell-side analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on Walmart from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Mizuho reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Walmart from $101.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Evercore ISI reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $110.00 target price (up from $108.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Walmart from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $110.76.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at $421,594,770.45. This represents a 0.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the company's 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 1,052,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $106,255,856.80. This trade represents a 0.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 121,382 shares of company stock worth $11,718,441. Insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

About Walmart

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.