Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC Cuts Stake in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC lessened its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 154,710 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 5,304 shares during the quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $15,127,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 397,264.9% in the second quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 104,514,912 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $10,496,702,000 after buying an additional 104,488,610 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 1st quarter worth $2,532,331,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 30.1% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 33,292,749 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,922,770,000 after buying an additional 7,706,201 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Walmart by 527.1% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,739,038 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $591,620,000 after acquiring an additional 5,664,484 shares during the period. Finally, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 28,684.8% during the first quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 4,229,354 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $371,295,000 after purchasing an additional 4,214,661 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.21, for a total transaction of $2,003,925.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,373,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $451,396,778.96. This trade represents a 0.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.83, for a total transaction of $415,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 1,048,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $108,861,082.65. The trade was a 0.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 131,622 shares of company stock valued at $13,444,273 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Tigress Financial raised their price target on Walmart from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Walmart from $101.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Bank of America raised their target price on Walmart from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Walmart from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Thirty-one research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $112.67.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $107.05 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $101.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $98.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The stock has a market cap of $853.47 billion, a PE ratio of 40.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.00 and a beta of 0.67. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $79.81 and a 1 year high of $109.57.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 21st. The retailer reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.06). Walmart had a net margin of 3.08% and a return on equity of 21.45%. The firm had revenue of $169.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $174.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.67 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Walmart has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.580-0.600 EPS. FY 2026 guidance at 2.520-2.620 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Company Profile

Walmart Inc engages in the operation of retail, wholesale, other units, and eCommerce worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam's Club. It operates supercenters, supermarkets, hypermarkets, warehouse clubs, cash and carry stores, and discount stores under Walmart and Walmart Neighborhood Market brands; membership-only warehouse clubs; ecommerce websites, such as walmart.com.mx, walmart.ca, flipkart.com, PhonePe and other sites; and mobile commerce applications.