Sterling Capital Management LLC Buys 12,709 Shares of Walmart Inc. $WMT

Key Points

• Sterling Capital Management increased its Walmart stake by 18.1% in the first quarter, buying 12,709 additional shares and bringing its total position to 82,900 shares worth about $10.3 million.
• Analyst sentiment on Walmart remains positive overall, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $138.85, even as some firms slightly trimmed their targets.
• Walmart recently reported Q1 earnings that met expectations, with EPS of $0.66 and revenue of $177.75 billion, while insiders also continued to sell shares over the past three months.

Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT - Free Report) by 18.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 82,900 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 12,709 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $10,303,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Entrust Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Merkkuri Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Walmart during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Beacon Financial Strategies CORP acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Walmart by 57.4% in the 4th quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Finally, Clayton Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 193.0% in the fourth quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC now owns 293 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on WMT shares. BNP Paribas Exane cut their price objective on Walmart from $147.00 to $146.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, April 20th. Tigress Financial restated a "buy" rating and issued a $155.00 price target (up from $150.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Craig Hallum set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Wolfe Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $137.00 price objective (up from $135.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, May 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $138.85.

Walmart Price Performance

Walmart stock opened at $114.60 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $912.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.21, a PEG ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 0.60. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $94.23 and a 52-week high of $135.15. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $123.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $122.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.77.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.66. The firm had revenue of $177.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $174.84 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 3.13% and a return on equity of 21.25%. The business's revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $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. On average, equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, EVP Latriece Watkins sold 11,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.97, for a total value of $1,308,670.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 120,203 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,300,550.91. This trade represents a 8.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.19, for a total value of $342,751.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 574,953 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $67,953,695.07. This represents a 0.50% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 100,730 shares of company stock worth $12,444,624 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

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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