39,012 Shares in Walmart Inc. $WMT Purchased by SGL Investment Advisors Inc.

SGL Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 39,012 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $4,395,000. Walmart makes up about 1.5% of SGL Investment Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $6,458,529,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 188.1% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,663,172 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,199,907,000 after acquiring an additional 7,614,172 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in Walmart by 54.0% in the 2nd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 18,607,297 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,107,462,000 after acquiring an additional 6,525,224 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 103,010,709 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $11,426,753,000 after acquiring an additional 6,517,394 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors purchased a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth $592,848,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

More Walmart News

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Unusually heavy call-option activity may indicate increased near-term bullish interest. Investors purchased 166,747 call options, about 33% above the typical daily volume. However, options activity is speculative and does not guarantee further gains.
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart is rolling out tap-to-pay and NFC capabilities across its U.S. stores and clubs. The move could improve checkout convenience, support mobile-wallet adoption and strengthen customer engagement as digital sales and membership become more important. Can Walmart’s Tap to Pay Push Strengthen Customer Engagement?
• Positive Sentiment: The company is introducing Scenario, a mostly sub-$25 fashion brand aimed at younger shoppers. Walmart hopes the offering will attract value-conscious consumers and improve its competitive position against Amazon in apparel. Walmart Aims to Take On Amazon With Trendier Apparel
• Neutral Sentiment: Walmart’s latest quarter exceeded expectations, with adjusted earnings of $0.81 per share versus roughly $0.74 expected and revenue of $187.94 billion, up 5.9% year over year. Full-year sales guidance was also raised to 4%-5%, but the outlook implies moderating growth.
• Negative Sentiment: U.S. comparable sales growth slowed to 2.6%, compared with 4.1% in the prior quarter and 4.6% a year earlier. Investors remain concerned that cautious consumers and uneven spending are pressuring traffic and discretionary purchases.
• Negative Sentiment: Several analysts reduced Walmart’s price targets or issued more cautious forecasts after the earnings report. Critics also argue that the stock remains expensive at roughly 36 times forward earnings despite decelerating growth, limiting upside.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT stock opened at $106.49 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $113.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $121.09. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $95.42 and a 52-week high of $135.15. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $847.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.61.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 20th. The retailer reported $0.81 earnings per share (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 net margin of 3.00% and a return on equity of 21.83%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company 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. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.34, for a total transaction of $308,386.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 569,153 shares in the company, valued at $60,523,730.02. This represents a 0.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a 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 Daniel J. Bartlett sold 3,775 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.64, for a total value of $413,891.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 630,009 shares in the company, valued at $69,074,186.76. This trade represents a 0.60% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 57,064 shares of company stock valued at $6,697,788 over the last quarter. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WMT. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $128.00 price objective (down from $137.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday. Roth Capital reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday. BNP Paribas Exane reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $137.00 price objective (down from $146.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday. Finally, Evercore set a $125.00 price objective on Walmart in a report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.88.

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.