Levin Capital Strategies L.P. Cuts Position in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Levin Capital Strategies L.P. lowered its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 5.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 130,826 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 6,984 shares during the quarter. Walmart accounts for about 1.2% of Levin Capital Strategies L.P.’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Levin Capital Strategies L.P.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $16,259,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Advisortrust Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 20.2% during the 1st quarter. Advisortrust Partners LLC now owns 67,142 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,344,000 after acquiring an additional 11,283 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA increased its stake in Walmart by 253.3% in the 1st quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA now owns 384,034 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $47,728,000 after purchasing an additional 275,337 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 2,416,580 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $300,333,000 after purchasing an additional 68,632 shares in the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. raised its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, HORAN Wealth LLC raised its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: RBC reaffirmed an outperform rating on Walmart and set a $137 price target, signaling meaningful upside from current levels and helping support sentiment. Benzinga report on RBC rating reaffirmation
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart is being described as a solid growth stock, with articles citing above-average financial growth and positioning that could help it outperform the market. Zacks growth stock article
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart partnered with ReturnPro to refurbish and resell returned items, a move that could improve e-commerce margins, recover value from returns, and reduce waste. Yahoo Finance ReturnPro partnership article

Walmart Price Performance

Walmart stock opened at $109.33 on Thursday. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $95.29 and a 12-month high of $135.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $870.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.36, a P/E/G ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 0.60. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $117.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $122.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66. The business had revenue of $177.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $174.84 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 3.13% and a return on equity of 21.25%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. Equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.63, for a total transaction of $2,303,320.08. Following the sale, the director owned 4,174,579 shares in the company, valued at $495,230,306.77. This trade represents a 0.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Latriece Watkins sold 11,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.97, for a total value of $1,308,670.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 120,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,300,550.91. This represents a 8.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 67,729 shares of company stock worth $8,124,931 in the last three months. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on WMT shares. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, May 18th. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $147.00 to $146.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 target price (up from $150.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, May 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.85.

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.