Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV Acquires 5,753 Shares of Walmart Inc. $WMT

Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV lifted its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 7.9% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 78,896 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 5,753 shares during the quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV’s holdings in Walmart were worth $9,805,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Physicians Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in Walmart by 0.3% during the first quarter. Physicians Financial Services Inc. now owns 157,758 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $19,606,000 after buying an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. Brady Martz Wealth Solutions LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 33.6% during the 1st quarter. Brady Martz Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 10,216 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,270,000 after acquiring an additional 2,568 shares in the last quarter. Weatherly Asset Management L. P. boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. Weatherly Asset Management L. P. now owns 70,530 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,779,000 after acquiring an additional 5,193 shares in the last quarter. J. Derek Lewis & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,256,000. Finally, Purpose Unlimited Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $72,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on WMT shares. Bank of America initiated coverage on Walmart in a report on Friday, February 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $150.00 target price for the company. Freedom Capital upgraded Walmart from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Truist Financial set a $140.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective (up from $145.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, May 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.85.

Walmart Price Performance

NASDAQ WMT opened at $117.18 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $124.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $122.11. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $94.23 and a twelve month high of $135.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $932.53 billion, a PE ratio of 41.12, a P/E/G ratio of 4.37 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.77.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66. The firm had revenue of $177.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $174.84 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.25% and a net margin of 3.13%.The company’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.61 EPS. Walmart has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.750-2.850 EPS and its Q2 2027 guidance at 0.720-0.740 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.63, for a total transaction of $2,303,320.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,174,579 shares in the company, valued at $495,230,306.77. This represents a 0.46% decrease in their position. 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 Christopher James Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.92, for a total transaction of $359,368.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 577,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $71,607,543.76. This trade represents a 0.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 117,246 shares of company stock valued at $14,493,147 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.