Nixon Peabody Trust Co. Reduces Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Nixon Peabody Trust Co. reduced its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 5.2% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 127,498 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 6,966 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up 1.3% of Nixon Peabody Trust Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Nixon Peabody Trust Co.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $15,845,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 28.8% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 98,150 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,868,000 after buying an additional 21,939 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,849 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $800,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Peterson Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Walmart by 3.5% in the first quarter. Peterson Wealth Management now owns 50,307 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,416,000 after acquiring an additional 1,715 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Walmart by 0.9% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 13,008 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,272,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. Finally, Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its stake in Walmart by 1.2% during the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 91,341 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,931,000 after acquiring an additional 1,048 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on WMT. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Walmart from $120.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $140.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.85.

Walmart News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart is getting attention for its growing e-commerce and membership momentum at Sam’s Club, with faster fulfillment and stronger digital sales supporting the case that the company can keep expanding despite cost pressure.
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and industry commentary continue to point to Walmart’s scale, higher-margin businesses, and advertising growth as offsetting factors that could help sustain earnings resilience. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several items focus on Walmart as a defensive retail name amid questions about U.S. consumer strength, suggesting investors are still viewing WMT as a potential relative winner if spending slows.
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary also notes that Walmart’s valuation remains elevated, which may limit upside in the short term even if fundamentals stay solid.
• Negative Sentiment: The biggest headline driver is Walmart’s decision to cut prices on hundreds of summer barbecue essentials, including beef, soda, and snacks, after President Trump said the move came at his administration’s request. That may pressure margins near term and has drawn attention to pricing pressure at the company.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors may also be reacting to the broader message that Walmart is leaning harder into discounting, which could reinforce concerns that competitive pricing could weigh on profitability even if it supports traffic. Article Title

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 3,775 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.64, for a total transaction of $413,891.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 630,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,074,186.76. The trade was a 0.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.63, for a total transaction of $2,303,320.08. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,174,579 shares in the company, valued at approximately $495,230,306.77. This trade represents a 0.46% 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 104,505 shares of company stock valued at $12,858,514. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Walmart Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of NASDAQ WMT traded up $2.18 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $112.83. The company had a trading volume of 4,527,591 shares, compared to its average volume of 26,004,516. The company has a market capitalization of $897.93 billion, a PE ratio of 39.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 0.60. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $122.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $122.11. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $94.23 and a 1-year high of $135.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.66. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.25% and a net margin of 3.13%.The firm had revenue of $177.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $174.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.61 EPS. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Walmart has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.750-2.850 EPS and its Q2 2027 guidance at 0.720-0.740 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

About Walmart

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.