MRA Advisory Group Increases Holdings in Walmart Inc. $WMT

MRA Advisory Group increased its position in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 40.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,865 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,721 shares during the period. Walmart makes up about 0.8% of MRA Advisory Group’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. MRA Advisory Group’s holdings in Walmart were worth $2,250,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Merkkuri Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the first quarter valued at $29,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 57.4% in the fourth quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Sankala Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:WMT opened at $111.85 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a market capitalization of $890.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.25, a P/E/G ratio of 4.18 and a beta of 0.61. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $95.42 and a 52-week high of $135.15. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $114.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $121.66.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.25% and a net margin of 3.13%.The firm had revenue of $177.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $174.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.61 EPS. The firm’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, equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on WMT. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Walmart from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Truist Financial set a $140.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.56.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 3,710 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.10, for a total transaction of $419,601.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 626,299 shares in the company, valued at $70,834,416.90. The trade was a 0.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $495,230,306.77. This represents a 0.46% 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 sold 71,439 shares of company stock worth $8,544,532 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

About Walmart

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.