Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. Invests $2.50 Million in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 22,456 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $2,502,000. Walmart comprises about 1.6% of Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake 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 buying an additional 4,304,436 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Walmart by 1.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 184,805,978 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $19,046,104,000 after acquiring an additional 2,242,364 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 6,517,394 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $6,458,529,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 40,626,852 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,526,238,000 after acquiring an additional 328,229 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Key Walmart News

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary remains broadly supportive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target around $138.85, suggesting Wall Street still sees upside from current levels.
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart’s latest earnings showed solid operating momentum, with revenue topping expectations and sales up 7.4% year over year, reinforcing the company’s defensive growth profile.
• Positive Sentiment: Several articles highlighted Walmart’s e-commerce, marketplace and higher-margin digital initiatives as key reasons bulls remain constructive after the stock’s recent pullback. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage comparing Walmart with other retail and wholesale alternatives may be prompting some portfolio rotation, but it does not appear to signal a fundamental change in the business. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Walmart also drew attention for its competition with Amazon in retail data and ad monetization, underscoring a strategic growth area rather than an immediate earnings catalyst. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: A recent 9.2% pullback and the stock’s move below key moving averages reflect investor caution about fuel costs, consumer pressure and whether near-term margins can keep pace. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling by EVP Daniel Bartlett, though conducted under a pre-arranged 10b5-1 plan and relatively small versus his holdings, can still add to short-term negative sentiment. Article Title

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.92, for a total value of $359,368.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 577,853 shares in the company, valued at $71,607,543.76. This represents a 0.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP David W. Guggina sold 11,978 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.82, for a total transaction of $1,435,203.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 125,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,985,527.94. The trade was a 8.74% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 117,246 shares of company stock valued at $14,493,147 over the last quarter. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WMT. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective (up from $145.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, June 8th. Truist Financial set a $140.00 price target on Walmart in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. UBS Group set a $141.00 price target on Walmart and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $120.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.85.

Walmart Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $117.18 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $932.53 billion, a PE ratio of 41.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.59. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $94.23 and a 52 week high of $135.15. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $124.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $122.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.77.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last issued its 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 company had revenue of $177.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $174.84 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.61 EPS. Walmart’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. As a group, equities analysts anticipate 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.