Walmart Inc. $WMT Shares Sold by Flputnam Investment Management Co.

Key Points

• Flputnam Investment Management Co. reduced its stake in Walmart Inc. by 14.9%, now owning 60,065 shares worth approximately $5.3 million.
• Multiple institutional investors have markedly increased their positions in Walmart, with increases of over 300% reported by some, indicating growing confidence in the stock.
• Walmart's recent earnings report showed a miss in EPS estimates, posting $0.68 per share compared to the expected $0.74, alongside a revenue of $169.34 billion against a forecast of $174.02 billion.

Flputnam Investment Management Co. reduced its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 14.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 60,065 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 10,523 shares during the quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co.'s holdings in Walmart were worth $5,273,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Operose Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 319.7% during the 1st quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 319 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. boosted its stake in Walmart by 98.2% during the 1st quarter. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. now owns 337 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd boosted its stake in Walmart by 432.4% during the 1st quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 362 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Walmart during the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Lipe & Dalton boosted its stake in Walmart by 95.2% during the 1st quarter. Lipe & Dalton now owns 410 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WMT. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price target (up from $112.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Walmart from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $106.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Walmart from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $110.59.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.85, for a total transaction of $1,258,031.25. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 945,434 shares in the company, valued at approximately $90,619,848.90. The trade was a 1.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 24th. The shares were 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 approximately $421,737,000.84. The trade was a 0.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 99,766 shares of company stock worth $9,640,873. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT stock opened at $96.97 on Monday. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.67 and a 1-year high of $105.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company has a market capitalization of $773.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.45, a P/E/G ratio of 4.66 and a beta of 0.65. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $98.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $95.29.

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 net margin of 3.08% and a return on equity of 21.45%. 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 prior year, the firm posted $0.67 EPS. The business's quarterly 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. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.

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