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

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

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Operose Advisors LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 319.7% during the first quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 319 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. PFS Partners LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 267.8% in the second quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 320 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 55.3% in the second quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 323 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. increased its position in Walmart by 98.2% during the first quarter. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. now owns 337 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd increased its position in Walmart by 432.4% during the first quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 362 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WMT shares. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $120.00 target price for the company. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $118.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price target (up from $112.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Walmart from $101.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Thirty-one investment 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 has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $112.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.21, for a total value of $2,003,925.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 4,373,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $451,396,778.96. This trade represents a 0.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.33, for a total value of $222,926.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 621,718 shares in the company, valued at $62,998,684.94. This represents a 0.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 131,622 shares of company stock valued at $13,444,273 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT stock opened at $107.05 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $101.92 and its 200 day moving average is $98.28. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $79.81 and a 1-year high of $109.57. 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 company has a market cap of $853.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.24, a PEG ratio of 5.00 and a beta of 0.67.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 21st. The retailer reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $0.67 earnings per share. The business’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. Research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Walmart

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.