Evoke Wealth LLC Has $4.97 Million Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Evoke Wealth LLC boosted its position in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 15.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 44,498 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,891 shares during the quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $4,968,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. SGL Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in Walmart by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. SGL Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 47,279 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,267,000 after buying an additional 3,177 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Cayman LP acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,179,000. Principle Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 82.8% during the 4th quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC now owns 35,185 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,920,000 after purchasing an additional 15,934 shares during the last quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,122,000. Finally, Wilian Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $863,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Key Walmart News

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart posted solid first-quarter results, with revenue of $177.8 billion and EPS of $0.66, while e-commerce sales rose 26% and advertising revenue jumped 37%, highlighting continued strength in digital and membership-driven businesses.
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts remained constructive after earnings: Bank of America reiterated a Buy rating and said Walmart is well positioned to gain share in a price-sensitive environment, while BTIG and BNP Paribas Exane also kept positive ratings despite modestly trimming price targets.
• Neutral Sentiment: Walmart disclosed pre-arranged insider sales by CEO John Furner and EVP Christopher James Nicholas, but both transactions were made under 10b5-1 plans, which typically limits how much investors read into them.
• Neutral Sentiment: News reports also noted leadership changes, including the departure of Sam’s Club COO Tom Ward and U.S. stores EVP Cedric Clark, adding some uncertainty but not appearing to change the company’s near-term operating outlook.
• Negative Sentiment: Shares weakened after Walmart issued second-quarter EPS guidance below consensus and reaffirmed full-year targets that also came in below Wall Street expectations, prompting concerns that margin pressure could continue.
• Negative Sentiment: Management said elevated fuel prices are pressuring both consumers and Walmart’s own costs, reinforcing worries that spending could soften and profitability could stay under pressure in the coming quarters.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on WMT shares. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $140.00 price target (up from $130.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target (up from $145.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $147.00 price target (up from $120.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.92, for a total value of $359,368.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 577,853 shares in the company, valued at $71,607,543.76. The trade was a 0.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.77, for a total value of $167,212.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 635,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $85,023,275.61. This trade represents a 0.20% 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. Insiders sold a total of 126,008 shares of company stock worth $15,896,715 over the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WMT opened at $120.27 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $93.43 and a 12 month high of $135.15. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $126.77 and a 200-day moving average of $120.03. The company has a market capitalization of $958.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.20, a P/E/G ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.65.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.66. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.25% and a net margin of 3.13%.The company had revenue of $177.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $174.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.61 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Walmart has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.750-2.850 EPS and its Q2 2027 guidance at 0.720-0.740 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Company 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.