Arax Advisory Partners Has $10.47 Million Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Arax Advisory Partners cut its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 67.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 93,955 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 197,808 shares during the quarter. Arax Advisory Partners’ holdings in Walmart were worth $10,467,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Beacon Financial Strategies CORP acquired a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 57.4% during the fourth quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clayton Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 193.0% during the fourth quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC now owns 293 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WMT opened at $121.04 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $93.62 and a 1 year high of $135.15. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $125.28 and a 200-day moving average of $121.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $963.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.52 and a beta of 0.59.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last posted 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. Walmart had a net margin of 3.13% and a return on equity of 21.25%. The company had revenue of $177.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $174.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.61 earnings per share. Walmart’s quarterly revenue 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.63, for a total value of $2,303,320.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,174,579 shares in the company, valued at approximately $495,230,306.77. The trade was a 0.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible 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 Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 577,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $71,607,543.76. This trade represents a 0.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 128,986 shares of company stock valued at $15,927,908 in the last ninety days. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on WMT. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $138.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 20th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Freedom Capital raised Walmart from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, May 22nd. One 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.85.

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.