Acadian Asset Management LLC Sells 92,087 Shares of Walmart Inc. $WMT

Key Points

• Acadian Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in Walmart by 6.2%, owning 1,396,631 shares valued at approximately $122.6 million after selling 92,087 shares in the first quarter.
• Walmart received multiple positive analyst ratings, with one firm raising its rating from "hold" to "buy" and others increasing price targets, leading to a consensus "Buy" rating with an average target of $110.76.
• Despite reporting a missed earnings estimate ($0.68 EPS vs. $0.74 expected), Walmart's revenue for the quarter increased by 4.8% year over year, totaling $169.34 billion.

Acadian Asset Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 6.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,396,631 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 92,087 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $122,589,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Operose Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 319.7% during the first quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 319 shares of the retailer's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. lifted its position in Walmart by 98.2% during the first quarter. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. now owns 337 shares of the retailer's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd lifted its position in Walmart by 432.4% during the first quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 362 shares of the retailer's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart during the first quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Lipe & Dalton lifted its position in Walmart by 95.2% during the first quarter. Lipe & Dalton now owns 410 shares of the retailer's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $110.76.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WMT traded up $2.23 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $102.64. The company's stock had a trading volume of 15,893,966 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,623,236. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.79. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $77.49 and a fifty-two week high of $105.30. The business's 50 day moving average price is $98.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $95.37. The company has a market cap of $818.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.59, a P/E/G ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 0.65.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last released 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 net margin of 3.08% and a return on equity of 21.45%. The business had revenue of $169.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $174.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.67 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly 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. On average, analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Walmart Company 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.