Walmart Inc. $WMT Shares Sold by Castleark Management LLC

Castleark Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 19.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 113,270 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 27,990 shares during the quarter. Castleark Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $12,619,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Renaissance Group LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Group LLC now owns 9,636 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,074,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Calton & Associates Inc. lifted its position in Walmart by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Calton & Associates Inc. now owns 27,220 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,033,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. Advocacy Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Advocacy Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,392 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $378,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Walmart by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,561 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $285,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Finally, Capstone Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Capstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,955 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $552,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.92, for a total transaction of $359,368.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 577,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $71,607,543.76. The trade was a 0.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through 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 Walmart stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.82, for a total value of $1,435,203.96. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 125,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,985,527.94. This represents a 8.74% 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 a total of 128,986 shares of company stock valued at $15,927,908 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $137.00 price objective (down from $140.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Freedom Capital raised Walmart from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Walmart from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Craig Hallum set a $150.00 price target on Walmart in a report on Friday, March 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.85.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT stock opened at $121.04 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $125.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $121.66. The stock has a market cap of $963.25 billion, a PE ratio of 42.47, a P/E/G ratio of 4.50 and a beta of 0.59. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $93.62 and a 1 year high of $135.15. 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 quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.66. The firm had revenue of $177.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $174.84 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.25% and a net margin of 3.13%.Walmart’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.61 earnings per share. Walmart has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.750-2.850 EPS and its Q2 2027 guidance at 0.720-0.740 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share 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.