Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Has $261.59 Million Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Key Points

• Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its Walmart stake by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, ending with 2.35 million shares valued at about $261.6 million.
• Walmart’s latest quarterly results showed EPS of $0.66, matching estimates, while revenue rose 7.4% year over year to $177.75 billion and beat Wall Street expectations.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on the stock, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average target price of $138.85, even as several insiders recently sold shares under pre-arranged trading plans.

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT - Free Report) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,347,948 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 24,806 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $261,585,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 439,957,146 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $49,015,626,000 after acquiring an additional 4,304,436 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 184,805,978 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $19,046,104,000 after acquiring an additional 2,242,364 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 103,010,709 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $11,426,753,000 after acquiring an additional 6,517,394 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $6,458,529,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 40,626,852 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,526,238,000 after acquiring an additional 328,229 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT stock opened at $120.59 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $93.43 and a twelve month high of $135.15. The company has a market cap of $959.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.31, a P/E/G ratio of 4.44 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $125.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $121.56.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $174.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.61 EPS. Walmart'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. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on WMT shares. Argus upgraded Walmart to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $138.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday. Tigress Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $155.00 target price (up from $150.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $138.85.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, CEO John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.08, for a total transaction of $1,628,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 661,037 shares in the company, valued at approximately $82,021,470.96. This represents a 1.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.63, for a total transaction of $2,303,320.08. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,174,579 shares of the company's stock, valued at $495,230,306.77. This trade represents a 0.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 sold 117,008 shares of company stock worth $14,492,704 over the last quarter. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

More Walmart News

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart is expanding its drone delivery program with Alphabet’s Wing, adding another fast-delivery capability that could strengthen its e-commerce and convenience moat. Eyes on the sky: Walmart and Alphabet's Wing expand their drone delivery program
• Positive Sentiment: Business Insider reported that Walmart’s AI-powered warehouses are speeding up freight handling and reducing the time store employees need to unload trucks, a sign that automation is improving efficiency and potentially margins. Walmart's AI-powered warehouses are slashing the time it takes store employees to unload trucks
• Positive Sentiment: Recent conference appearances suggest management is highlighting Walmart’s growth in digital, e-commerce, and higher-margin services, which may reinforce the long-term bull case for the stock. Walmart Inc. (WMT) Presents at Oppenheimer 26th Annual Consumer Growth and E-Commerce Conference Transcript Walmart Inc. (WMT) Presents at The 6th Annual Evercore Consumer & Retail Conference Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts remain split on Walmart, indicating the market is still weighing the company’s growth initiatives against its valuation. Analysts Have Conflicting Sentiments on These Consumer Goods Companies: Walmart (WMT), Campbell Soup (CPB) and JM Smucker (SJM)
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage around Walmart’s retail media expansion, Subway integration, and broader digital transformation has raised questions about valuation, but also underscores the company’s push into higher-margin services. Walmart Media Expansion And Delivery Push Raise Questions For WMT Valuation Walmart (WMT) Valuation Check As Subway Integration And Higher Margin Services Draw New Attention Walmart's No. 2 Ranking Hides a Digital Transformation Story

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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