Advisors Asset Management Inc. Boosts Position in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Key Points

• Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Walmart Inc. by 5.8%, owning 867,627 shares valued at approximately $76 million, making it the firm's 7th largest holding.
• In the latest quarter, Walmart reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.68, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74, with revenues totaling $169.34 billion.
• Several analysts recently raised their price targets for Walmart, with Goldman Sachs increasing theirs from $101 to $114, reflecting a generally positive outlook despite the earnings miss.

Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 5.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 867,627 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 47,222 shares during the quarter. Walmart accounts for approximately 1.4% of Advisors Asset Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Advisors Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Walmart were worth $76,169,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Amundi raised its stake in Walmart by 1.1% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 15,783,138 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,377,237,000 after acquiring an additional 173,057 shares in the last quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 4.7% during the first quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,833 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,302,000 after acquiring an additional 672 shares in the last quarter. 1 North Wealth Services LLC acquired a new position in Walmart during the first quarter worth about $100,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its stake in Walmart by 0.4% during the first quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 3,993,226 shares of the retailer's stock worth $350,565,000 after acquiring an additional 15,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 19.2% during the first quarter. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,633 shares of the retailer's stock worth $495,000 after acquiring an additional 907 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on WMT. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Walmart from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Telsey Advisory Group upped their price objective on Walmart from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price objective (up previously from $112.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price objective on Walmart from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $110.76.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.14, for a total transaction of $380,560.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 1,056,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $100,511,128.70. This represents a 0.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.58, for a total value of $1,855,781.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 4,412,398 shares in the company, valued at $421,737,000.84. The trade was a 0.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 121,382 shares of company stock valued at $11,718,441 over the last 90 days. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Trading Up 1.4%

WMT stock traded up $1.42 during trading on Thursday, hitting $100.86. The company had a trading volume of 15,629,600 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,735,688. The business has a 50-day moving average of $98.23 and a 200-day moving average of $95.26. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $76.30 and a one year high of $105.30. The stock has a market cap of $804.17 billion, a PE ratio of 37.92, a PEG ratio of 4.78 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 (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 21st. The retailer reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.06). Walmart had a net margin of 3.08% and a return on equity of 21.45%. The company had revenue of $169.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $174.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.67 earnings per share. The business's 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. Research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Walmart

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.