Exchange Capital Management Inc. Grows Stake in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Exchange Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 6,034 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 174 shares during the quarter. Exchange Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $590,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WMT. Operose Advisors LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 319.7% in the 1st quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 319 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. PFS Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 267.8% in the second quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 320 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 55.3% in the second quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 323 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 98.2% during the 1st quarter. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. now owns 337 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd boosted its holdings in Walmart by 432.4% in the 1st quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 362 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 294 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $117.00 price objective on Walmart and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Walmart from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Walmart from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective (up from $112.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Thirty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $112.38.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.33, for a total transaction of $222,926.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 621,718 shares in the company, valued at $62,998,684.94. This trade represents a 0.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,610 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.71, for a total value of $166,973.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 645,968 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $66,993,341.28. The trade was a 0.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 151,232 shares of company stock worth $15,083,877 in the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $102.15 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $78.98 and a 12-month high of $106.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company has a market cap of $814.46 billion, a PE ratio of 38.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.79 and a beta of 0.67. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $100.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $96.61.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 21st. The retailer reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.06). Walmart had a net margin of 3.08% and a return on equity of 21.45%. The company had revenue of $169.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $174.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $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, equities analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Company Profile

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.