New England Research & Management Inc. Reduces Stake in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Key Points

• New England Research & Management Inc. reduced its stake in Walmart Inc. by 35.1%, selling 3,025 shares and owning 5,599 shares valued at $547,000.
• Analysts are optimistic about Walmart’s performance, with multiple firms reaffirming “outperform” ratings and price targets ranging from $110.00 to $115.00.
• Walmart's recent earnings report revealed a miss on earnings per share at $0.68, compared to the expected $0.74, and a revenue of $169.34 billion below the anticipated $174.02 billion.

New England Research & Management Inc. lowered its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 35.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,599 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 3,025 shares during the period. New England Research & Management Inc.'s holdings in Walmart were worth $547,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WMT. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 28.8% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 98,150 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,868,000 after acquiring an additional 21,939 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,849 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $800,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 36,945 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,338,000 after acquiring an additional 1,720 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 34.9% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 66,900 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $6,044,000 after acquiring an additional 17,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 2,767,066 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $250,004,000 after acquiring an additional 17,388 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on WMT shares. Mizuho reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Evercore ISI reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $110.00 price objective (up from $108.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Walmart from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Walmart from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price objective (up from $112.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, August 18th. One equities 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, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $110.76.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT stock opened at $103.40 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $824.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.87, a P/E/G ratio of 4.98 and a beta of 0.65. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $77.49 and a fifty-two week high of $105.30. The business's 50 day moving average price is $98.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $95.48. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $169.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $174.02 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.45% and a net margin of 3.08%.Walmart's quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business 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 research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the firm'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 value of $1,855,781.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 4,412,398 shares in the company, valued at $421,737,000.84. This trade represents a 0.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.85, for a total value of $1,258,031.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 945,434 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $90,619,848.90. The trade was a 1.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 151,232 shares of company stock worth $14,822,719. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company 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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