Park Avenue Securities LLC Purchases 24,215 Shares of Walmart Inc. $WMT

Key Points

• Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its stock position in Walmart Inc. by 10.4%, acquiring a total of 256,092 shares valued at approximately $25 million.
• Walmart's stock experienced a 1.2% decline, with recent earnings reflecting an EPS of $0.68, which missed estimates by $0.06.
• Analysts have a generally positive outlook on Walmart, with an average price target of $112.03 and a majority giving it a "Buy" rating.

Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 10.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 256,092 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 24,215 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $25,041,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Operose Advisors LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 319.7% during the first quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 319 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. increased its holdings in Walmart by 98.2% in the first quarter. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. now owns 337 shares of the retailer's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd increased its holdings in Walmart by 432.4% in the first quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 362 shares of the retailer's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Walmart in the first quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Lipe & Dalton increased its holdings in Walmart by 95.2% in the first quarter. Lipe & Dalton now owns 410 shares of the retailer's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT stock traded down $0.39 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $102.43. 8,130,211 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,866,164. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $99.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $95.72. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $78.98 and a 52-week high of $106.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $816.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.51, a P/E/G ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $169.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $174.02 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.67 earnings per share. Walmart's revenue for the quarter 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. Research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on WMT. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Telsey Advisory Group increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Walmart from $111.00 to $109.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Walmart in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $129.00 target price for the company. Twenty-nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $112.62.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 4,412,398 shares in the company, valued at $421,737,000.84. This represents a 0.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.96, for a total value of $403,840.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 1,052,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $106,255,856.80. The trade was a 0.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 151,232 shares of company stock worth $14,960,635 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

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.