Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Trims Holdings in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lowered its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 3.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,345,146 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 71,434 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $265,611,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Advisortrust Partners LLC grew its position in Walmart by 20.2% in 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 in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 253.3% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 42.1% during the fourth quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 275,341 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $30,676,000 after purchasing an additional 81,635 shares in the last quarter. HORAN Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 55.7% during the first quarter. HORAN Wealth LLC now owns 81,544 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $9,931,000 after purchasing an additional 29,184 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gerald Baker Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the first quarter valued at approximately $20,016,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

More Walmart News

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: DA Davidson reaffirmed its Buy rating and set a $150 price target, implying substantial upside from recent trading levels. The bullish view supports the stock by pointing to Walmart’s defensive business model and continued customer traffic. Benzinga analyst rating report
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts say Walmart has not yet seen a major change in shopping behavior despite gasoline prices rising above $4 per gallon. The retailer is also gaining share among higher-income customers, which could help offset pressure on lower-income households. TheStreet gas price and Walmart shoppers article
• Neutral Sentiment: Walmart leads a closely watched retail earnings week. Its results, along with reports from Target, Home Depot and Lowe’s, are expected to provide fresh evidence about consumer health, promotional activity and the effects of inflation and fuel costs. Yahoo Finance consumer landscape preview
• Negative Sentiment: Investor expectations appear cautious ahead of earnings. Oppenheimer downgraded Walmart to Perform and reportedly expects U.S. comparable sales growth of about 3%, below the roughly 3.8% consensus, with slower General Merchandise and Health & Wellness growth. Seeking Alpha Walmart earnings preview
• Negative Sentiment: Higher fuel prices could eventually squeeze discretionary spending among Walmart’s lower-income customers. Analysts also cite cautious guidance, elevated costs and a demanding valuation as reasons the stock may remain vulnerable if quarterly results or the outlook disappoint. Walmart’s previously reaffirmed fiscal 2027 guidance calls for 3.5%–4.5% net sales growth and adjusted EPS of $2.75–$2.85, rather than an upgrade. Seeking Alpha Walmart earnings setup

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $150.00 price target (up from $145.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Oppenheimer lowered Walmart from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $137.00 price objective (up from $135.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, May 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $138.50.

Insider Activity

In other Walmart news, CEO John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.08, for a total transaction of $1,628,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 661,037 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $82,021,470.96. The trade was a 1.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing 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 the company’s 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 directly 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 70,189 shares of company stock valued at $8,377,320. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $114.33 on Tuesday. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $95.42 and a 52-week high of $135.15. The company has a 50 day moving average of $114.23 and a 200 day moving average of $121.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a market capitalization of $909.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.12, a P/E/G ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 0.61.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.66. Walmart had a net margin of 3.13% and a return on equity of 21.25%. The company had revenue of $177.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $174.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.61 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. 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 2.88 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.