Langley Wealth Management LLC Takes Position in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Langley Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 19,320 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $2,188,000. Walmart makes up 15.0% of Langley Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $6,458,529,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 188.1% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,663,172 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,199,907,000 after purchasing an additional 7,614,172 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 103,010,709 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $11,426,753,000 after purchasing an additional 6,517,394 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $592,848,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 439,957,146 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $49,015,626,000 after purchasing an additional 4,304,436 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 3,775 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.64, for a total value of $413,891.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 630,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,074,186.76. This represents a 0.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.63, for a total value of $2,303,320.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,174,579 shares in the company, valued at $495,230,306.77. The trade was a 0.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 54,164 shares of company stock valued at $6,389,402 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WMT. Tigress Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $155.00 price target (up from $150.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $135.00 price objective (down from $137.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective (up from $145.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Walmart from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane cut their target price on Walmart from $147.00 to $146.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.50.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $114.30 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $114.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $121.49. The firm has a market cap of $909.61 billion, a PE ratio of 40.11, a P/E/G ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $95.42 and a 1-year high of $135.15.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.25% and a net margin of 3.13%.The firm had revenue of $177.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $174.84 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.61 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.88 EPS for the current year.

Walmart News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart enters the report with a strong earnings track record, having exceeded revenue expectations for 25 consecutive quarters. Analysts also see potential for another earnings beat, supported by e-commerce momentum and a growing contribution from Walmart Connect advertising. Walmart Q2 Preview
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s grocery leadership, expanding online business and higher-margin retail-media operations remain important long-term strengths. Advertising growth could help offset the cost of competitive pricing and faster delivery. DA Davidson also reiterated a Buy rating. Retail stagnates, ad dollars help Walmart stay the course
• Neutral Sentiment: Options traders expect a significant post-earnings move, highlighting elevated volatility and the possibility that results or guidance could materially change the stock’s near-term direction. Barchart data ahead of Walmart earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Thousands of price reductions may support customer traffic but could slow sales growth and pressure profit margins. Same-store sales momentum has moderated, increasing investor dependence on advertising and other higher-margin businesses. Walmart sales growth expected to slow
• Negative Sentiment: Several previews characterize WMT as expensive ahead of earnings, with a price-to-earnings ratio near 40 and a cautious outlook already weighing on sentiment. Investors may require a clear earnings or guidance upside to justify the valuation. Walmart valuation concern ahead of Q2 earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Walmart’s grocery advantage faces a margin test as shoppers increasingly purchase additional goods from Amazon, while elevated costs and cautious consumers could limit profitability. Walmart grocery margin test

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.