Insider Selling: Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) EVP Sells $419,601.00 in Stock

Key Points

• Walmart EVP Daniel Bartlett sold 3,710 shares at an average price of $113.10, totaling $419,601; the transaction was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan and reduced his stake by 0.59%.
• Walmart shares rose 0.8% to $111.55, while the company reported quarterly revenue of $177.75 billion, up 7.4% year over year, and earnings per share in line with estimates at $0.66.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $138.56, though Oppenheimer cited valuation concerns and downgraded the stock ahead of earnings.

Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT - Get Free Report) EVP Daniel Bartlett sold 3,710 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.10, for a total value of $419,601.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 626,299 shares in the company, valued at approximately $70,834,416.90. This trade represents a 0.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Walmart Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of Walmart stock traded up $0.84 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $111.55. 29,566,572 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 25,480,145. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $95.42 and a twelve month high of $135.15. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $114.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $121.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $887.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.14, a P/E/G ratio of 4.15 and a beta of 0.61.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.66. The firm had revenue of $177.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $174.84 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.25% and a net margin of 3.13%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.61 earnings per share. Walmart has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.750-2.850 EPS and its Q2 2027 guidance at 0.720-0.740 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

More Walmart News

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Advertising expansion: Walmart completed its acquisition of Vibe.co, a self-service streaming-TV advertising platform. Integrating the company into Walmart Connect should give advertisers more tools to plan, purchase and measure connected-TV campaigns, potentially strengthening Walmart’s higher-margin advertising business. Walmart Finalizes Purchase of TV Ad Platform Vibe.co
• Positive Sentiment: New growth initiatives: Walmart is expanding drone delivery in Florida through Alphabet’s Wing and offering GLP-1 weight-loss prescriptions with nutrition coaching and AI-based support. These initiatives could improve delivery competitiveness and broaden Walmart’s healthcare opportunity, although their near-term financial impact remains uncertain. Walmart Launches Florida Drone Delivery And GLP 1 Weight Loss Prescriptions
• Neutral Sentiment: Long-term case remains intact: Commentators continue to cite Walmart’s scale, e-commerce investments, advertising growth and dividend stability as reasons to hold the stock over the long term. However, these are broad investment views rather than new earnings catalysts. Is Walmart a Good Long-Term Investment?
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrade and valuation concerns: Oppenheimer downgraded Walmart ahead of its upcoming earnings report, arguing that the stock’s “peakish valuation” leaves it vulnerable to a lower re-rating if U.S. comparable-sales growth slows. With Walmart trading at a relatively high earnings multiple, investors may demand strong guidance and continued momentum. Walmart Downgraded Ahead of Earnings

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,458,529,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 188.1% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,663,172 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,199,907,000 after acquiring an additional 7,614,172 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 103,010,709 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $11,426,753,000 after acquiring an additional 6,517,394 shares during the period. Capital International Investors acquired a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $592,848,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Walmart by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 439,957,146 shares of the retailer's stock worth $49,015,626,000 after purchasing an additional 4,304,436 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WMT. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Walmart from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Mizuho set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, July 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $137.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Truist Financial set a $140.00 price target on Walmart in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $138.56.

About Walmart

Walmart is a multinational retail corporation that operates a broad portfolio of store formats and digital services. Its core business includes large-format supercenters, discount department stores, neighborhood grocery stores and a membership warehouse chain, Sam’s Club. The company’s merchandising mix covers groceries, household goods, apparel, electronics and pharmacy services, supplemented by private-label products and category-specific offerings. Walmart pairs its physical store network with online platforms and mobile applications to provide omnichannel shopping, fulfillment and delivery options for consumers and businesses.

The company was founded by Sam Walton, who opened the first store in Rogers, Arkansas in 1962; it is headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas.

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