William Blair Investment Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Key Points

• William Blair Investment Management LLC reduced its holdings in Walmart Inc. by 37% during the second quarter, owning 362,082 shares after selling 212,542 shares, valuing its remaining stake at approximately $35.4 million.
• A number of other institutional investors, including First National Bank of Hutchinson and Private Wealth Management Group LLC, increased their positions in Walmart during the same period, highlighting ongoing interest from large investors.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Walmart, with target prices ranging from $106 to $129, indicating confidence in the stock despite its recent earnings miss.

William Blair Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 37.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 362,082 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 212,542 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $35,404,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. First National Bank of Hutchinson lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 3.2% in the second quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 31,019 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,033,000 after acquiring an additional 962 shares in the last quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 16.4% in the second quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 1,021 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $100,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 2.3% in the second quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 85,794 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,389,000 after acquiring an additional 1,903 shares in the last quarter. Citizens Business Bank lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 0.7% in the second quarter. Citizens Business Bank now owns 57,837 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $5,655,000 after acquiring an additional 419 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 0.6% in the second quarter. Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 57,686 shares of the retailer's stock worth $5,641,000 after buying an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Walmart in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $129.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $106.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Bank of America boosted their target price on Walmart from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $117.00 target price on Walmart and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Thirty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $112.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.78, for a total transaction of $1,414,612.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 892,940 shares in the company, valued at $96,241,073.20. This represents a 1.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,550 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.46, for a total value of $166,563.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 644,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,249,158.28. This represents a 0.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 151,038 shares of company stock valued at $15,249,614. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Walmart Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of WMT stock opened at $107.80 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $79.81 and a 1 year high of $109.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $101.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $97.92. The company has a market cap of $859.50 billion, a PE ratio of 40.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.08 and a beta of 0.67.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 21st. The retailer reported $0.68 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $169.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $174.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.67 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter 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 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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