J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. $WMT

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 73.4% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 293,750 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 124,350 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up about 0.6% of J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $28,723,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Access Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Walmart during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Operose Advisors LLC boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. PFS Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 267.8% during the 2nd quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 320 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd grew its position in shares of Walmart by 432.4% in the first quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 362 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the period. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 55.3% in the 2nd 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. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WMT shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $116.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 target price (up from $115.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $125.00 price objective (up from $120.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Thirty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $118.55.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE:WMT opened at $103.85 on Tuesday. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $79.81 and a fifty-two week high of $109.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.79. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $103.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $99.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $827.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.04, a PEG ratio of 4.83 and a beta of 0.67.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The retailer reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.45% and a net margin of 3.08%.The company had revenue of $179.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $175.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.58 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Walmart has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.580-2.630 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, CTO Suresh Kumar sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.47, for a total value of $3,104,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 1,787,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $184,921,584. This trade represents a 1.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.78, for a total transaction of $1,414,612.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 892,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $96,241,073.20. This trade represents a 1.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 151,013 shares of company stock valued at $15,616,747. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.