Cetera Investment Advisers Raises Stake in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 1.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,815,570 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 27,853 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in Walmart were worth $349,919,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Advisortrust Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 20.2% during the 1st quarter. Advisortrust Partners LLC now owns 67,142 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,344,000 after acquiring an additional 11,283 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA increased its stake in Walmart by 253.3% in the 1st quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA now owns 384,034 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $47,728,000 after purchasing an additional 275,337 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 2.9% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 2,416,580 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $300,333,000 after purchasing an additional 68,632 shares during the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. lifted its position in Walmart by 42.1% in the fourth quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 275,341 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $30,676,000 after purchasing an additional 81,635 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HORAN Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 55.7% during the first quarter. HORAN Wealth LLC now owns 81,544 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $9,931,000 after purchasing an additional 29,184 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 3,775 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.64, for a total value of $413,891.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 630,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,074,186.76. The trade was a 0.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP David W. Guggina sold 11,978 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.82, for a total value of $1,435,203.96. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 125,067 shares in the company, valued at $14,985,527.94. The trade was a 8.74% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 67,729 shares of company stock valued at $8,124,931. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: RBC reaffirmed an outperform rating on Walmart and set a $137 price target, signaling meaningful upside from current levels and helping support sentiment. Benzinga report on RBC rating reaffirmation
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart is being described as a solid growth stock, with articles citing above-average financial growth and positioning that could help it outperform the market. Zacks growth stock article
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart partnered with ReturnPro to refurbish and resell returned items, a move that could improve e-commerce margins, recover value from returns, and reduce waste. Yahoo Finance ReturnPro partnership article

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on WMT shares. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $137.00 price target (up from $135.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, May 11th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $150.00 price target (up from $145.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, May 7th. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $147.00 to $146.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Walmart from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $138.85.

Walmart Stock Down 1.0%

NASDAQ:WMT opened at $109.33 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $117.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $122.09. The company has a market capitalization of $870.06 billion, a PE ratio of 38.36, a P/E/G ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.23. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $95.29 and a 1-year high of $135.15.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66. The company had revenue of $177.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $174.84 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 3.13% and a return on equity of 21.25%. Walmart’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $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. On average, equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Profile

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.