Sapient Capital LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Sapient Capital LLC lessened its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 9.0% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 352,468 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 34,870 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up about 0.7% of Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $43,887,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Entrust Financial LLC bought a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Merkkuri Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Walmart during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 57.4% during the 4th quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 193.0% in the 4th quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC now owns 293 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the period. Finally, Sankala Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.63, for a total value of $2,303,320.08. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,174,579 shares in the company, valued at $495,230,306.77. This trade represents a 0.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 3,775 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.64, for a total transaction of $413,891.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 630,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,074,186.76. This trade represents a 0.60% 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 67,729 shares of company stock valued at $8,124,931. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Walmart stock opened at $111.20 on Monday. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $95.42 and a 1-year high of $135.15. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $115.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $121.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $884.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.02, a PEG ratio of 4.15 and a beta of 0.60.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price objective on Walmart from $147.00 to $146.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Walmart from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $145.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.56.

Walmart Company 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.