Legal & General Group Plc Sells 90,402 Shares of Walmart Inc. $WMT

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its Walmart stake slightly in the fourth quarter, selling 90,402 shares and ending with 27.18 million shares worth about $3.03 billion.
• Walmart’s latest quarter showed solid operating momentum, with revenue of $177.8 billion and EPS of $0.66 in line with expectations, while e-commerce sales rose 26% and advertising revenue climbed 37%.
• Despite the strong results, Walmart faces some near-term pressure: the company gave second-quarter EPS guidance below Wall Street estimates, and analysts note margin concerns tied to higher fuel costs and potentially softer consumer spending.

Legal & General Group Plc lessened its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT - Free Report) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,178,061 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 90,402 shares during the period. Walmart comprises approximately 0.7% of Legal & General Group Plc's holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.34% of Walmart worth $3,027,910,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. SLT Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 28.3% in the 4th quarter. SLT Holdings LLC now owns 3,852 shares of the retailer's stock worth $429,000 after purchasing an additional 850 shares during the period. Glenview Trust Co lifted its holdings in Walmart by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Glenview Trust Co now owns 872,745 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $97,233,000 after purchasing an additional 16,800 shares in the last quarter. Elite Life Management LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 111.6% during the fourth quarter. Elite Life Management LLC now owns 4,197 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $468,000 after purchasing an additional 2,214 shares in the last quarter. Genus Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Walmart by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Genus Capital Management Inc. now owns 44,050 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,908,000 after purchasing an additional 3,975 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HBK Sorce Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 71,622 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $7,979,000 after purchasing an additional 2,021 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Walmart News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart posted solid first-quarter results, with revenue of $177.8 billion and EPS of $0.66, while e-commerce sales rose 26% and advertising revenue jumped 37%, highlighting continued strength in digital and membership-driven businesses.
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts remained constructive after earnings: Bank of America reiterated a Buy rating and said Walmart is well positioned to gain share in a price-sensitive environment, while BTIG and BNP Paribas Exane also kept positive ratings despite modestly trimming price targets.
• Neutral Sentiment: Walmart disclosed pre-arranged insider sales by CEO John Furner and EVP Christopher James Nicholas, but both transactions were made under 10b5-1 plans, which typically limits how much investors read into them.
• Neutral Sentiment: News reports also noted leadership changes, including the departure of Sam’s Club COO Tom Ward and U.S. stores EVP Cedric Clark, adding some uncertainty but not appearing to change the company’s near-term operating outlook.
• Negative Sentiment: Shares weakened after Walmart issued second-quarter EPS guidance below consensus and reaffirmed full-year targets that also came in below Wall Street expectations, prompting concerns that margin pressure could continue.
• Negative Sentiment: Management said elevated fuel prices are pressuring both consumers and Walmart’s own costs, reinforcing worries that spending could soften and profitability could stay under pressure in the coming quarters.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $145.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday. Craig Hallum set a $150.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, March 6th. Argus raised shares of Walmart to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $137.00 price target (up from $135.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $150.00 price target on shares of Walmart and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Walmart has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $138.71.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $120.27 on Monday. The company's fifty day moving average is $126.77 and its 200 day moving average is $120.16. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $93.43 and a fifty-two week high of $135.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $958.67 billion, a PE ratio of 42.20, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.77.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 3.13% and a return on equity of 21.25%. The company had revenue of $177.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $174.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.61 earnings per share. Walmart's quarterly revenue 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. Sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.77, for a total value of $167,212.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 635,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $85,023,275.61. The trade was a 0.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 577,853 shares in the company, valued at $71,607,543.76. This represents a 0.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 126,008 shares of company stock valued at $15,896,715 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

About Walmart

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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