Smith Asset Management Co. LLC Invests $387,000 in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Key Points

• Smith Asset Management Co. LLC invested approximately $387,000 in Walmart by acquiring 4,410 shares in the first quarter, as disclosed in their recent SEC filing.
• Several large investors increased their stakes in Walmart during the fourth quarter, with Brighton Jones LLC raising its stake by 28.8% and Janus Henderson Group PLC by 17.4%.
• Walmart recently reported a quarterly earnings miss, posting $0.68 EPS against a consensus estimate of $0.74, with a revenue of $169.34 billion compared to expected $174.02 billion.

Smith Asset Management Co. LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 4,410 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $387,000.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of WMT. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 28.8% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,849 shares of the retailer's stock worth $800,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE increased its stake in Walmart by 4.9% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd increased its stake in Walmart by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd now owns 14,343 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,296,000 after purchasing an additional 850 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in Walmart by 17.4% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 752,624 shares of the retailer's stock worth $68,037,000 after purchasing an additional 111,513 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.97, for a total value of $1,863,353.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 4,392,985 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $421,594,770.45. This represents a 0.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,655 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.38, for a total value of $166,128.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 647,578 shares of the company's stock, valued at $65,003,879.64. This represents a 0.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 121,382 shares of company stock worth $11,718,441 in the last quarter. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen raised Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $117.00 price target on Walmart and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. KeyCorp upped their price target on Walmart from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $117.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, May 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $110.76.

Walmart Trading Up 1.7%

NYSE WMT opened at $102.26 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $815.33 billion, a PE ratio of 38.44, a PEG ratio of 4.83 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $76.49 and a 12 month high of $105.30. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $98.38 and a 200-day moving average of $95.22.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 21st. The retailer reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $169.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $174.02 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 3.08% and a return on equity of 21.45%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.67 EPS. 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 anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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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