Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Sells 7,548 Shares of Walmart Inc. $WMT

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC decreased its position in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 397,801 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 7,548 shares during the quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $41,340,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. State Street Corp grew its position in Walmart by 1.1% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 188,036,646 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $21,297,031,000 after acquiring an additional 2,107,781 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the second quarter worth about $7,455,131,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 6.4% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 28,142,040 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,497,493,000 after buying an additional 1,681,353 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,905,655,000. Finally, Amundi raised its position in shares of Walmart by 44.4% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 20,796,957 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,355,463,000 after purchasing an additional 6,393,326 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $137.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 21st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Walmart from $140.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Truist Financial set a $114.00 target price on shares of Walmart and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $132.41.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, EVP Latriece Watkins sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.00, for a total transaction of $575,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 110,432 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,699,680. This trade represents a 4.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.60, for a total transaction of $1,582,875.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 634,790 shares in the company, valued at approximately $76,555,674. This trade represents a 2.03% 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 a total of 268,222 shares of company stock valued at $31,604,051 in the last ninety days. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Walmart News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart was among retailers leading a market rally following the Democrats’ congressional sweep, providing a favorable sector backdrop for the stock. Walmart, Target, and Dollar Tree lead retail rally
• Positive Sentiment: A reported $6 billion deal with Symbotic to automate warehouses could improve operating efficiency over time, though the scale of the investment also matters. Walmart in $6B Symbotic deal to automate warehouses
• Positive Sentiment: ETFs purchased $152.6 million of Walmart shares on Nov. 2, signaling notable fund demand. Walmart sees $152.6 million in net ETF buying
• Positive Sentiment: One long-term investment analysis argues Walmart is growing despite a challenging economy and that its business strength can justify a premium valuation. Why I’d buy Walmart in November and hold for a decade
• Neutral Sentiment: Executives Suresh Kumar and Daniel Bartlett disclosed share sales under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans. Such planned transactions are not necessarily signals about their view of Walmart’s outlook. Walmart executive share sale
• Negative Sentiment: AI shopping agents could challenge Walmart’s advertising revenue and access to customer data if shoppers increasingly use third-party agents instead of the retailer’s own channels. AI shopping agents could threaten Walmart’s ad business
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation remains a risk: coverage describes WMT as expensive, with a P/E around 45, and cites management’s prior warning of a potential slowdown. That could leave the shares sensitive to any disappointment. Should You Buy Walmart Stock Before Nov. 19?

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $129.17 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.02 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.12, a P/E/G ratio of 4.51 and a beta of 0.53. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $111.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $118.51. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $98.88 and a 1-year high of $135.15.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The retailer reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $187.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $186.64 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 3.00% and a return on equity of 21.83%. Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.68 earnings per share. Walmart has set its Q3 2027 guidance at 0.620-0.640 EPS and its FY 2027 guidance at 2.800-2.870 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Walmart

Walmart Inc (NASDAQ:WMT) operates a global retail business through a network of supercenters, supermarkets, discount stores, neighborhood markets, warehouse clubs and e-commerce platforms. Its stores and websites sell a broad assortment of merchandise, including groceries, consumables, health and wellness products, apparel, electronics, home goods, toys and other general merchandise.

The company organizes its operations into Walmart U.S., Walmart International and Sam’s Club U.S. Walmart U.S.