Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC Raises Holdings in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Key Points

• Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Walmart Inc. by 49.7% during the first quarter, now owning 113,601 shares worth approximately $9.97 million.
• Walmart reported quarterly earnings of $0.68 per share, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74, with revenues totaling $169.34 billion, which was below the expected $174.02 billion.
• The company declared a dividend of $0.235 per share, with an upcoming payment on September 2nd, reflecting a dividend yield of 90.0% and a payout ratio of 35.34%.

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 49.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 113,601 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 37,717 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $9,973,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the first quarter valued at about $2,532,331,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 9,896.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,939,728 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $697,029,000 after purchasing an additional 7,860,306 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Walmart by 30.1% during 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 purchasing an additional 7,706,201 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Walmart by 527.1% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,739,038 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $591,620,000 after purchasing an additional 5,664,484 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board grew its position in shares of Walmart by 28,684.8% during 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 purchasing an additional 4,214,661 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

Walmart stock opened at $96.18 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $98.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $95.49. 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 Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.57 and a fifty-two week high of $105.30. The company has a market capitalization of $767.56 billion, a PE ratio of 36.16, a P/E/G ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 0.66.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 21st. The retailer reported $0.68 earnings per share 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 in the prior year, the firm posted $0.67 EPS. The business's revenue 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. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 90.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Walmart's payout ratio is currently 35.34%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,655 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.38, for a total value of $166,128.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 647,578 shares of the company's stock, valued at $65,003,879.64. The trade was a 0.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,412,398 shares of the company's stock, valued at $421,737,000.84. This trade represents a 0.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 101,966 shares of company stock valued at $9,858,673. Insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on WMT shares. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Walmart from $111.00 to $109.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Walmart from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $106.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Walmart from $101.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $110.07.

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.

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