13,746 Shares in Walmart Inc. $WMT Purchased by Ceredex Value Advisors LLC

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 13,746 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,557,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Walmart by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 184,805,978 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $19,046,104,000 after buying an additional 2,242,364 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 103,010,709 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $11,426,753,000 after acquiring an additional 6,517,394 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $6,458,529,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 40,626,852 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,526,238,000 after acquiring an additional 328,229 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 36,820,550 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,102,546,000 after acquiring an additional 920,969 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WMT. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday. Evercore set a $125.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $128.00 price objective (down from $137.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.88.

Walmart Price Performance

Walmart stock opened at $105.38 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $838.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.04, a PEG ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $112.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $120.93. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $95.42 and a 52 week high of $135.15.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The retailer reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $187.94 billion for 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 company’s revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm 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, research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP David W. Guggina sold 11,978 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.82, for a total value of $1,435,203.96. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 125,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,985,527.94. This trade represents a 8.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Latriece Watkins sold 11,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.97, for a total transaction of $1,308,670.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 120,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,300,550.91. The trade was a 8.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 57,064 shares of company stock valued at $6,697,788 in the last 90 days. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart’s Sparky AI shopping assistant reportedly generates 40% higher customer spending among users, while the company is also integrating AI into advertising and exploring technology partnerships with OpenAI and ChatGPT. These efforts could lift conversion, basket sizes and future digital-advertising revenue. Walmart Sparky AI article
• Positive Sentiment: The launch of Scenario, a women’s fashion brand with most products priced below $25, is designed to attract younger, trend-conscious shoppers and strengthen Walmart’s position in apparel. Its value pricing may help the retailer compete more directly with Amazon. Walmart Scenario fashion brand article
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts’ consensus price target of approximately $128 remains well above recent trading levels, suggesting some Wall Street analysts view the selloff as excessive. Walmart also exceeded quarterly EPS and revenue expectations and raised its full-year sales-growth outlook to 4%-5%.
• Neutral Sentiment: Walmart is rolling out NFC tap-to-pay across U.S. stores and clubs, improving checkout convenience and aligning with broader mobile-wallet adoption. The change may support engagement but is unlikely to materially alter near-term earnings. Walmart NFC rollout article
• Negative Sentiment: U.S. comparable sales increased only 2.6%, below the 3.8% consensus estimate and representing Walmart’s slowest comparable-sales growth in six years. Higher gasoline prices and broader economic pressure may be making consumers more cautious, despite the earnings beat. Walmart comparable-sales miss article
• Negative Sentiment: Amazon’s share of U.S. clothing spending doubled to 17% in 2025 from 8.5% in 2019, while Walmart’s share edged lower. The widening gap raises concerns about Walmart’s ability to gain share in an important retail category. Amazon and Walmart clothing-share article
• Negative Sentiment: Commentators argue WMT still trades at a premium valuation—roughly 36 times forward earnings—despite decelerating growth and cautious consumer trends. That leaves less room for disappointment and has amplified the post-earnings decline.

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.