MSH Capital Advisors LLC Buys New Position in Walmart Inc. $WMT

MSH Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 24,343 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $2,757,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Entrust Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Merkkuri Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Walmart in the first quarter valued at $29,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 57.4% in the fourth quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Sankala Group LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $155.00 price objective (up from $150.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, May 29th. Guggenheim set a $130.00 price objective on Walmart and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $125.00 target price (down from $140.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday. Oppenheimer lowered Walmart from a “market perform” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Walmart from $141.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, EVP David W. Guggina sold 11,978 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.82, for a total value of $1,435,203.96. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 125,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,985,527.94. The trade was a 8.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.34, for a total value of $308,386.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 569,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $60,523,730.02. This trade represents a 0.51% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 57,064 shares of company stock worth $6,697,788. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Stock Up 2.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:WMT opened at $106.49 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $847.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.61. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $113.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $121.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $95.42 and a 12-month high of $135.15.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The retailer reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $187.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $186.64 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.83% and a net margin of 3.00%.Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $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, equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Trending Headlines about Walmart

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 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.