Walmart Inc. $WMT Stock Acquired by Modera Wealth Management LLC

Modera Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 2.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 192,275 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,308 shares during the quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $19,981,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Montgomery Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Turim 21 Investimentos Ltda. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Pingora Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. PMV Capital Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Evolution Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 44.3% in the 1st quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 316 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Latriece Watkins sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.00, for a total value of $575,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 110,432 shares in the company, valued at $12,699,680. This trade represents a 4.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Christopher Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.60, for a total value of $349,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 563,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $67,940,371.80. The trade was a 0.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 have sold 102,244 shares of company stock valued at $11,112,044 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Walmart News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Energy investment expands Walmart’s customer offerings: Walmart is making a strategic investment in Base Power and will offer the company’s home battery systems to Walmart customers and Sam’s Club members beginning in November. The systems are designed to reduce energy costs and provide backup power, creating a potential new customer benefit while expanding Walmart’s ecosystem beyond traditional retail. Walmart and Base Power announce strategic agreement
• Positive Sentiment: Major automation agreement with Symbotic: Walmart expanded its commercial relationship with warehouse-automation provider Symbotic in a deal valued at approximately $6 billion. Greater automation could improve fulfillment capacity, labor efficiency and inventory management, although the investment also carries execution and capital-spending risks. Symbotic stock jumps on Walmart automation deal
• Positive Sentiment: Strong fundamentals continue to support the stock: Walmart’s latest quarterly results exceeded consensus estimates for both earnings and revenue, with revenue rising year over year. Analysts and market commentary continue to highlight earnings growth and price strength as reasons to remain constructive on WMT. Earnings growth and price strength make Walmart a stock to watch
• Neutral Sentiment: Healthcare expansion offers a longer-term growth avenue: Walmart has broadened its Better Care Services platform into a healthcare marketplace connecting customers with third-party providers. The initiative could increase customer engagement, but its financial contribution is not yet clear. Walmart launched a healthcare services marketplace
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive and regulatory concerns remain: DoorDash’s proposed $17 billion acquisition of Instacart is intended partly to strengthen competition with Walmart and Amazon in local commerce and grocery delivery. Separately, the FTC is seeking information from Walmart about the use of personal data in personalized pricing, creating potential compliance and reputational risks. FTC orders Walmart and others to share pricing data information
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation comparisons could limit upside: Walmart trades at a substantially higher earnings multiple than Target, while commentary suggests Walmart’s comparable-sales growth may be moderating. That premium leaves the stock more exposed if growth expectations weaken. Target trades at a fraction of Walmart’s valuation

Walmart Stock Up 1.9%

NASDAQ:WMT opened at $123.51 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $979.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.59, a P/E/G ratio of 4.38 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.77. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $110.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $118.40. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $98.88 and a 52-week high of $135.15.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The retailer reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $187.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $186.64 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.83% and a net margin of 3.00%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.68 EPS. Walmart has set its Q3 2027 guidance at 0.620-0.640 EPS and its FY 2027 guidance at 2.800-2.870 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.88 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Freedom Broker upgraded Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $128.00 price target (down from $137.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday. Roth Capital reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday. They issued a “strong-buy” rating on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $132.41.

Walmart Company Profile

Walmart Inc (NASDAQ:WMT) operates a global retail business through a network of supercenters, supermarkets, discount stores, neighborhood markets, warehouse clubs and e-commerce platforms. Its stores and websites sell a broad assortment of merchandise, including groceries, consumables, health and wellness products, apparel, electronics, home goods, toys and other general merchandise.

The company organizes its operations into Walmart U.S., Walmart International and Sam’s Club U.S. Walmart U.S.