Johnson Financial Group Inc. Makes New $4.67 Million Investment in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 41,196 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $4,666,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth approximately $6,458,529,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 188.1% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,663,172 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,199,907,000 after acquiring an additional 7,614,172 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in Walmart by 54.0% in the second quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 18,607,297 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,107,462,000 after acquiring an additional 6,525,224 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 103,010,709 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $11,426,753,000 after purchasing an additional 6,517,394 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $592,848,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP David W. Guggina sold 11,978 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.82, for a total transaction of $1,435,203.96. Following the transaction, the executive vice president 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director 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. 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 90 days, insiders sold 57,064 shares of company stock worth $6,697,788. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BTIG Research lowered their target price on shares of Walmart from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday. BNP Paribas Exane reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $137.00 price objective (down from $146.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Walmart from a “market perform” rating to a “cautious” rating in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.88.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WMT opened at $103.70 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $113.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $121.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The company has a market cap of $825.25 billion, a PE ratio of 37.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.61. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $95.42 and a 12 month high of $135.15.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The retailer reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $187.94 billion for 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%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior 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.

Walmart News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart reported adjusted earnings of $0.81 per share and revenue of $187.94 billion, beating consensus estimates of $0.74 and $186.62 billion, respectively. Revenue increased 5.9% year over year. Walmart earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Growth businesses remain strong: global e-commerce sales rose 23%, advertising revenue increased 38%, and global membership revenue grew 17%. These trends support the long-term investment case despite slower core-store growth. Walmart second-quarter highlights
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart plans to use approximately $2.9 billion in tariff refunds to help lower prices, potentially strengthening its value proposition as consumers become more budget-conscious. The rollout of tap-to-pay, including Apple Pay and Google Pay, may also improve checkout convenience. Walmart tap to pay rollout
• Neutral Sentiment: Several analysts retained bullish ratings—including buy, outperform, and overweight—but lowered price targets after the earnings release. New targets range from $120 to $140, indicating analysts still see meaningful upside but have moderated their expectations.
• Negative Sentiment: U.S. comparable sales grew 2.6%, below expectations near 3.5%, marking Walmart’s weakest domestic comparable-sales growth in more than six years. Analysts cited weakness in health and wellness and questioned the trajectory of the core U.S. business.
• Negative Sentiment: Third-quarter guidance fell short of consensus: Walmart projected adjusted EPS of $0.62–$0.64 versus $0.68 expected and revenue of $183.1–$184.5 billion versus $188.2 billion expected. The timing of Flipkart’s promotional event is also expected to reduce quarterly sales growth by more than 100 basis points.
• Negative Sentiment: The stock’s elevated valuation increases sensitivity to any slowdown, while higher energy costs and consumer trade-offs are raising broader concerns about the health of U.S. retail spending.

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.