Sunbelt Securities Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 11.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 57,093 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,869 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $6,361,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Beacon Financial Strategies CORP acquired a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 57.4% in the 4th quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clayton Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 193.0% during the 4th quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC now owns 293 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Walmart

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. HSBC cut Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their target price for the company from $122.00 to $131.00 in a report on Friday, February 20th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Walmart from $120.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price objective on Walmart from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Erste Group Bank lowered Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $120.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.85.

Walmart Price Performance

NASDAQ:WMT opened at $117.18 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $94.23 and a one year high of $135.15. The stock has a market cap of $932.53 billion, a PE ratio of 41.12, a P/E/G ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.77. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $124.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $122.07.

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. The company had revenue of $177.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $174.84 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.25% and a net margin of 3.13%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company 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. Equities research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, EVP Latriece Watkins sold 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.97, for a total transaction of $1,308,670.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 120,203 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,300,550.91. This trade represents a 8.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.92, for a total transaction of $359,368.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 577,853 shares in the company, valued at $71,607,543.76. This trade represents a 0.50% 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 117,246 shares of company stock worth $14,493,147. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.