Nicola Wealth Management LTD. lowered its stake in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT – Free Report) by 7.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 176,200 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 14,000 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for about 1.8% of Nicola Wealth Management LTD.’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Nicola Wealth Management LTD.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $19,630,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,561 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $285,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Capstone Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Capstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,955 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $552,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Ellenbecker Investment Group grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Ellenbecker Investment Group now owns 14,475 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,613,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 20.0% in the 4th quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 547 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,362 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $263,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.
Insider Activity
In other news, CEO John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.96, for a total transaction of $1,600,725.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 687,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $83,821,522.52. This represents a 1.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.92, for a total value of $359,368.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 577,853 shares in the company, valued at approximately $71,607,543.76. This represents a 0.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 126,008 shares of company stock worth $15,896,715. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.
More Walmart News
- Positive Sentiment: Walmart posted solid first-quarter results, with revenue of $177.8 billion and EPS of $0.66, while e-commerce sales rose 26% and advertising revenue jumped 37%, highlighting continued strength in digital and membership-driven businesses.
- Positive Sentiment: Several analysts remained constructive after earnings: Bank of America reiterated a Buy rating and said Walmart is well positioned to gain share in a price-sensitive environment, while BTIG and BNP Paribas Exane also kept positive ratings despite modestly trimming price targets.
- Neutral Sentiment: Walmart disclosed pre-arranged insider sales by CEO John Furner and EVP Christopher James Nicholas, but both transactions were made under 10b5-1 plans, which typically limits how much investors read into them.
- Neutral Sentiment: News reports also noted leadership changes, including the departure of Sam’s Club COO Tom Ward and U.S. stores EVP Cedric Clark, adding some uncertainty but not appearing to change the company’s near-term operating outlook.
- Negative Sentiment: Shares weakened after Walmart issued second-quarter EPS guidance below consensus and reaffirmed full-year targets that also came in below Wall Street expectations, prompting concerns that margin pressure could continue.
- Negative Sentiment: Management said elevated fuel prices are pressuring both consumers and Walmart’s own costs, reinforcing worries that spending could soften and profitability could stay under pressure in the coming quarters.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
WMT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Tigress Financial set a $150.00 price target on Walmart and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $137.00 price objective (up from $135.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, May 11th. HSBC cut Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $122.00 to $131.00 in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Argus raised Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.71.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Walmart
Walmart Stock Performance
WMT stock opened at $120.27 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $958.67 billion, a PE ratio of 42.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.65. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $93.43 and a 12-month high of $135.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $126.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $120.16.
Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 analysts’ expectations of $174.84 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.25% and a net margin of 3.13%.The company’s revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.61 EPS. Walmart has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.750-2.850 EPS and its Q2 2027 guidance at 0.720-0.740 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
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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