Per Stirling Capital Management LLC. Has $1.33 Million Stake in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Key Points

• Per Stirling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Walmart Inc. by 21.8%, bringing its total holdings to 15,194 shares, valued at approximately $1.33 million.
• A variety of hedge funds have significantly increased their positions in Walmart; for example, Operose Advisors LLC raised its holdings by 319.7% in the first quarter.
• Walmart's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $0.68, missing estimates by $0.06, with revenue of $169.34 billion for the quarter, indicating a year-over-year increase of 4.8%.

Per Stirling Capital Management LLC. lifted its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 21.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,194 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 2,722 shares during the quarter. Per Stirling Capital Management LLC.'s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,334,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WMT. Operose Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 319.7% in the 1st quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 319 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. increased its position in Walmart by 98.2% during the 1st 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 boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 432.4% during the 1st quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 362 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Walmart in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Lipe & Dalton raised its position in Walmart by 95.2% during the 1st quarter. Lipe & Dalton now owns 410 shares of the retailer's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WMT. Wall Street Zen raised Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price objective on Walmart from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Walmart from $101.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $110.07.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $96.18 on Tuesday. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.57 and a twelve month high of $105.30. The company has a 50 day moving average of $98.03 and a 200 day moving average of $95.49. The firm has a market cap of $767.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.16, a PEG ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 21st. The retailer reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.67 EPS. Walmart'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, research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders 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 is Friday, August 15th. Walmart's payout ratio is currently 35.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.58, for a total transaction of $1,855,781.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 4,412,398 shares of the company's stock, valued at $421,737,000.84. This represents a 0.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $166,128.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 647,578 shares of the company's stock, valued at $65,003,879.64. This trade represents a 0.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 101,966 shares of company stock worth $9,858,673. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate 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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