Legal & General Group Plc Sells 90,402 Shares of Walmart Inc. $WMT

Legal & General Group Plc lessened its position in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 27,178,061 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 90,402 shares during the period. Walmart comprises 0.7% of Legal & General Group Plc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Walmart were worth $3,027,910,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Collier Financial bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Entrust Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Beacon Financial Strategies CORP bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, May 18th. UBS Group set a $141.00 target price on shares of Walmart and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Tigress Financial set a $150.00 target price on shares of Walmart and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $140.00 target price (up from $130.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $145.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.71.

Walmart Price Performance

NASDAQ:WMT opened at $120.27 on Monday. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $93.43 and a 1-year high of $135.15. The company has a 50-day moving average of $126.77 and a 200 day moving average of $120.16. The firm has a market cap of $958.67 billion, a PE ratio of 42.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.24.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $174.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.61 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter 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, research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart posted solid first-quarter results, with revenue of $177.8 billion and EPS of $0.66, while e-commerce sales rose 26% and advertising revenue jumped 37%, highlighting continued strength in digital and membership-driven businesses.
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts remained constructive after earnings: Bank of America reiterated a Buy rating and said Walmart is well positioned to gain share in a price-sensitive environment, while BTIG and BNP Paribas Exane also kept positive ratings despite modestly trimming price targets.
• Neutral Sentiment: Walmart disclosed pre-arranged insider sales by CEO John Furner and EVP Christopher James Nicholas, but both transactions were made under 10b5-1 plans, which typically limits how much investors read into them.
• Neutral Sentiment: News reports also noted leadership changes, including the departure of Sam’s Club COO Tom Ward and U.S. stores EVP Cedric Clark, adding some uncertainty but not appearing to change the company’s near-term operating outlook.
• Negative Sentiment: Shares weakened after Walmart issued second-quarter EPS guidance below consensus and reaffirmed full-year targets that also came in below Wall Street expectations, prompting concerns that margin pressure could continue.
• Negative Sentiment: Management said elevated fuel prices are pressuring both consumers and Walmart’s own costs, reinforcing worries that spending could soften and profitability could stay under pressure in the coming quarters.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 577,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $71,607,543.76. This represents a 0.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.77, for a total transaction of $167,212.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 635,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $85,023,275.61. This represents a 0.20% 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. Insiders sold 126,008 shares of company stock valued at $15,896,715 over the last quarter. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.