Beech Hill Advisors Inc. Cuts Stake in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Beech Hill Advisors Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 17.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,606 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 4,910 shares during the period. Beech Hill Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $2,330,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Access Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. PFS Partners LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 267.8% during the second quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 320 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 233 shares during the period. Ridgewood Investments LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 55.3% during the second quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 323 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the second quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Harbor Asset Planning Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the second quarter worth about $46,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. DA Davidson set a $130.00 price objective on Walmart and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $122.00 target price (up from $118.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, November 21st. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $125.00 price target (up from $120.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, November 21st. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 price target (up previously from $115.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, November 21st. Thirty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $120.54.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.63, for a total value of $406,520.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 1,040,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $105,741,441.65. This represents a 0.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP David Chojnowski sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s 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 trade represents a 4.89% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 127,828 shares of company stock worth $13,745,625. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WMT opened at $112.60 on Tuesday. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $79.81 and a 1 year high of $117.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The company’s 50-day moving average is $107.82 and its 200 day moving average is $102.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $897.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.37, a P/E/G ratio of 5.28 and a beta of 0.64.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 20th. The retailer reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 3.26% and a return on equity of 21.31%. The business had revenue of $179.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $175.15 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.58 earnings per share. Walmart’s quarterly 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.

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.