Walmart Inc. $WMT Shares Acquired by Arete Wealth Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Arete Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Walmart Inc. by 12.8% in Q1, now owning 68,026 shares valued at nearly $6 million.
• Walmart reported $0.68 EPS for the latest quarter, missing estimates by $0.06, and revenue of $169.34 billion, which was below the expected $174.02 billion.
• Multiple analysts issued revised price targets for Walmart shares, with Guggenheim raising its target to $115.00, while JPMorgan lowered its target to $127.00.

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 12.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 68,026 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 7,734 shares during the quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $5,972,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strait & Sound Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 37.0% during the 1st quarter. Strait & Sound Wealth Management LLC now owns 25,876 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,272,000 after purchasing an additional 6,990 shares during the period. Hamilton Capital LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Hamilton Capital LLC now owns 7,653 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $672,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares in the last quarter. Voleon Capital Management LP boosted its position in Walmart by 56.4% in the 1st quarter. Voleon Capital Management LP now owns 194,280 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $17,056,000 after buying an additional 70,092 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 11.2% during the first quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 81,456 shares of the retailer's stock worth $7,169,000 after purchasing an additional 8,191 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sender Co & Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,831,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Walmart Price Performance

NYSE WMT opened at $100.45 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $800.85 billion, a PE ratio of 37.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.83 and a beta of 0.65. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $76.30 and a 52 week high of $105.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $98.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $95.17.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 21st. The retailer reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.06). Walmart had a net margin of 3.08% and a return on equity of 21.45%. The firm had revenue of $169.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $174.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.67 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Walmart has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.580-0.600 EPS. FY 2026 guidance at 2.520-2.620 EPS. Research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.37, for a total transaction of $214,214.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 623,918 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,750,895.66. The trade was a 0.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.96, for a total transaction of $403,840.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 1,052,455 shares in the company, valued at $106,255,856.80. The trade was a 0.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 121,382 shares of company stock valued at $11,718,441. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price objective (up from $112.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, August 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Walmart from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Evercore ISI reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $110.00 price target (up from $108.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, August 18th. KeyCorp boosted their target price 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 objective on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, May 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $110.76.

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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