Rafferty Asset Management LLC Trims Holdings in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in Walmart Inc. by 20.6%, selling 78,375 shares in the first quarter, bringing their total ownership to 302,753 shares valued at approximately $26.58 million.
• Several institutional investors have increased their stakes in Walmart, with AQR Capital Management LLC raising its ownership by 22.9%, now holding over 5.3 million shares worth nearly $482 million.
• Walmart reported earnings of $0.68 per share for the most recent quarter, missing analysts' expectation of $0.74, and had a revenue of $169.34 billion, below the forecasted $174.02 billion.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 20.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 302,753 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 78,375 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $26,579,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WMT. Eagle Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 3,861 shares of the retailer's stock worth $349,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 28.8% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 98,150 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,868,000 after purchasing an additional 21,939 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,849 shares of the retailer's stock worth $800,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the period. Highview Capital Management LLC DE increased its stake in Walmart by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 36,945 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,338,000 after purchasing an additional 1,720 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 22.9% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,334,041 shares of the retailer's stock worth $481,931,000 after purchasing an additional 995,080 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMT has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Walmart from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and set a $117.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Evercore ISI restated an "outperform" rating and set a $110.00 price target (up previously from $108.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group raised their price target on Walmart from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $110.59.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.55, for a total transaction of $1,293,468.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 919,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $90,586,075.95. The trade was a 1.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,412,398 shares of the company's stock, valued at $421,737,000.84. This trade represents a 0.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 101,966 shares of company stock valued at $9,858,673. Insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT stock opened at $96.03 on Wednesday. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.67 and a fifty-two week high of $105.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $766.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.10, a PEG ratio of 4.63 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.79. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $98.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $95.50.

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

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a dividend yield of 90.0%. Walmart's payout ratio is presently 35.34%.

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.

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