AQR Capital Management LLC Lowers Stake in Walmart Inc. $WMT

AQR Capital Management LLC cut its position in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 6.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,049,000 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 262,382 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.05% of Walmart worth $394,292,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WMT. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 397,264.9% in the second quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 104,514,912 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $10,496,702,000 after acquiring an additional 104,488,610 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the second quarter worth about $5,367,770,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 9,648.7% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,486,374 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,123,138,000 after purchasing an additional 11,368,549 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Walmart by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 431,817,510 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,223,116,000 after purchasing an additional 5,856,468 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Walmart by 527.1% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,739,038 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $591,620,000 after purchasing an additional 5,664,484 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ WMT opened at $116.70 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $79.81 and a fifty-two week high of $116.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.80. The company has a market cap of $930.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.80, a PEG ratio of 5.34 and a beta of 0.64. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $106.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $101.46.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 20th. The retailer reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.31% and a net margin of 3.26%.The company had revenue of $179.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $175.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.58 EPS. Walmart’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Walmart has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.580-2.630 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI set a $117.00 price objective on shares of Walmart and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $123.00 target price (up previously from $111.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $123.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $125.00 price target (up previously from $115.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, September 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $129.00 price objective for the company. Thirty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $119.31.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.78, for a total transaction of $1,414,612.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 892,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $96,241,073.20. This trade represents a 1.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP David Chojnowski sold 7,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.65, for a total transaction of $746,550.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,535,221.85. This represents a 4.89% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 128,013 shares of company stock valued at $13,553,747. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

About Walmart

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.