NewEdge Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Key Points

• NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in Walmart Inc. by 3.9%, owning 955,086 shares valued at approximately $83.8 million as of the end of the first quarter.
• Consensus ratings from analysts indicate a "Buy" for Walmart, with a target price currently averaging $110.76, along with several recent target price increases.
• Walmart reported earnings of $0.68 per share for the last quarter, which fell short of analysts' expectations of $0.74, while revenue was up 4.8% year-over-year.

NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 3.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 955,086 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 35,559 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $83,847,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Full Sail Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Full Sail Capital LLC now owns 8,702 shares of the retailer's stock worth $786,000 after buying an additional 541 shares in the last quarter. Ally Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,107,000. Night Squared LP purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,052,000. Monument Capital Management raised its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 26,685 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management raised its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 9,831 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on WMT. Evercore ISI reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $110.00 target price (up previously from $108.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, August 18th. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 target price (up previously from $112.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, August 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Walmart from $101.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Walmart from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $110.76.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.85, for a total transaction of $1,258,031.25. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 945,434 shares in the company, valued at $90,619,848.90. This trade represents a 1.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.14, for a total value of $380,560.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 1,056,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at $100,511,128.70. This represents a 0.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 121,382 shares of company stock valued at $11,718,441. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Walmart Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of WMT opened at $100.86 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $804.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.78 and a beta of 0.65. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $98.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $95.26. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $76.30 and a twelve month high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last issued its 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). The firm had revenue of $169.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $174.02 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.45% and a net margin of 3.08%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last 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 forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Company 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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