AQR Capital Management LLC Sells 1,022,659 Shares of Walmart Inc. $WMT

by · The Cerbat Gem

AQR Capital Management LLC reduced its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT – Free Report) by 19.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,311,382 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,022,659 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $371,684,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Walmart by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 425,961,042 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $37,395,120,000 after purchasing an additional 3,224,154 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in Walmart by 30.1% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 33,292,749 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,922,770,000 after purchasing an additional 7,706,201 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Walmart by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 30,874,987 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,710,665,000 after purchasing an additional 387,424 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 29,843,892 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,696,396,000 after purchasing an additional 233,040 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Walmart by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 29,188,142 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,562,427,000 after purchasing an additional 823,020 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $97.74 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $98.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $95.26. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $76.30 and a 52 week high of $105.30. The company has a market capitalization of $779.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.74, a PEG ratio of 4.66 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 21st. The retailer reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.06). Walmart had a return on equity of 21.45% and a net margin of 3.08%.The firm had revenue of $169.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $174.02 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.67 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter 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. As a group, analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.97, for a total transaction of $1,863,353.52. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,392,985 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $421,594,770.45. The trade was a 0.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.55, for a total value of $1,293,468.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 919,189 shares in the company, valued at $90,586,075.95. The trade was a 1.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 119,182 shares of company stock worth $11,504,227. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on WMT. Telsey Advisory Group increased their target price on Walmart from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $110.00 price target (up from $108.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $106.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price target (up from $112.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price target on Walmart from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $110.59.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on WMT

Walmart Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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