WS Management Lllp Reduces Holdings in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Key Points

• WS Management Lllp reduced its holdings in Walmart Inc. by 22.1% during the first quarter, selling 34,327 shares and now owning a total of 120,977 shares valued at approximately $10.6 million.
• Walmart's earnings report revealed an EPS of $0.68, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74, while the company's revenue was $169.34 billion, lower than the expected $174.02 billion.
• Several analysts have upgraded their ratings on Walmart, with a consensus average target price of $110.07 and multiple firms issuing a "buy" rating after the recent earnings report.

WS Management Lllp reduced its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 22.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 120,977 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 34,327 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up 1.2% of WS Management Lllp's investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. WS Management Lllp's holdings in Walmart were worth $10,621,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Walmart during the 1st quarter valued at about $22,360,000. FORA Capital LLC purchased a new position in Walmart during the 1st quarter valued at about $14,261,000. WCG Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. WCG Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 89,453 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $7,853,000 after acquiring an additional 1,866 shares in the last quarter. South Plains Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Walmart by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. South Plains Financial Inc. now owns 11,607 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,019,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NCM Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 24.7% during the 1st quarter. NCM Capital Management LLC now owns 7,473 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $656,000 after acquiring an additional 1,481 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on WMT shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Walmart from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $101.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $117.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, May 16th. One investment 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $110.07.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT opened at $96.18 on Tuesday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $98.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $95.49. 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 1 year low of $75.57 and a 1 year high of $105.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $767.56 billion, a PE ratio of 36.16, a P/E/G ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 0.66.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 21st. The retailer reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.06). Walmart had a return on equity of 21.45% and a net margin of 3.08%.The company had revenue of $169.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $174.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.67 earnings per share. Walmart'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. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a dividend yield of 90.0%. Walmart's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.30, for a total value of $216,260.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 626,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $61,547,399.40. This trade represents a 0.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,655 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.38, for a total transaction of $166,128.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 647,578 shares in the company, valued at $65,003,879.64. This represents a 0.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 101,966 shares of company stock valued at $9,858,673. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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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