Principle Wealth Partners LLC Raises Stock Position in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Key Points

• Principle Wealth Partners LLC increased its Walmart stake by 82.8% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 35,185 shares valued at about $3.92 million.
• Walmart reported strong first-quarter results, with revenue of $177.75 billion and EPS of $0.66, both in line with or above expectations, and revenue rose 7.4% year over year.
• Analysts remain generally constructive on the stock, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $138.71, even though shares recently traded below that level and the company’s near-term guidance disappointed some investors.

Principle Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT - Free Report) by 82.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 35,185 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 15,934 shares during the quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $3,920,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 188.1% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,663,172 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,199,907,000 after purchasing an additional 7,614,172 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Walmart by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 439,957,146 shares of the retailer's stock worth $49,015,626,000 after purchasing an additional 4,304,436 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its stake in Walmart by 20.5% during the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 23,497,921 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,413,236,000 after purchasing an additional 4,004,277 shares during the last quarter. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth $294,621,000. Finally, Axxcess Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 1,061.8% during the 4th quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,042,724 shares of the retailer's stock worth $338,989,000 after purchasing an additional 2,780,817 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $120.27 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $93.43 and a 1-year high of $135.15. The stock has a market cap of $958.67 billion, a PE ratio of 42.20, a P/E/G ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.65. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $126.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $120.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.24.

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, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.66. The business had revenue of $177.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $174.84 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 3.13% and a return on equity of 21.25%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.61 earnings per share. Walmart has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.750-2.850 EPS and its Q2 2027 guidance at 0.720-0.740 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on WMT shares. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $125.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and set a $150.00 price target (up from $145.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating and set a $145.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $138.71.

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.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.77, for a total transaction of $167,212.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 635,593 shares in the company, valued at $85,023,275.61. This represents a 0.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.08, for a total transaction of $1,628,550.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 661,037 shares in the company, valued at $82,021,470.96. This trade represents a 1.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 126,008 shares of company stock valued at $15,896,715. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Walmart Profile

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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