Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Purchases 6,874 Shares of Walmart Inc. $WMT

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its position in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 0.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 842,205 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,874 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Walmart were worth $86,798,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 397,264.9% in the second quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 104,514,912 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $10,496,702,000 after purchasing an additional 104,488,610 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Walmart in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $5,367,770,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 9,648.7% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,486,374 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,123,138,000 after buying an additional 11,368,549 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Walmart by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 431,817,510 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $42,223,116,000 after acquiring an additional 5,856,468 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 23.5% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 19,493,644 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,902,775,000 after acquiring an additional 3,710,506 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Barclays reiterated its Buy rating on WMT, reinforcing institutional confidence in Walmart’s outlook and supporting demand for the stock. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Mizuho raised its price target to $125 (from $115) and kept an Outperform/Overweight view, signaling upward analyst momentum that can boost buying interest. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo also lifted its target to $130 and remains constructive on Walmart, adding to the analyst support narrative behind the rally. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart launched “Better Care Services,” a digital healthcare platform and lowered prices on some health items — a strategic push that could expand margins and services revenue over time. Analysts are re-assessing valuation with this new health push in mind. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart added Shishir Mehrotra (ex-Grammarly/Superhuman) to its board — a governance move emphasizing AI and e‑commerce expertise that investors view as strengthening Walmart’s tech roadmap. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Walmart launched a celebrity fashion line (Millie Bobby Brown) aimed at teens and young women — a branding/merchandising boost but likely modest near-term financial impact. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Market coverage notes (Zacks, Kalkine, AmericanBankingNews) show elevated investor attention and a consensus “moderate buy,” which keeps the stock in focus but doesn’t single-handedly move fundamentals. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Amazon received approval to build a 225,000 sq ft Walmart-style supercenter near Chicago that would blend in-store shopping with fulfillment — a clear competitive threat to Walmart’s grocery and omnichannel footprint in key markets. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Deutsche Bank downgraded Walmart from Buy to Hold with a $119 target, signaling some analyst caution (limits upside relative to recent price moves) and adding selling pressure for more risk‑sensitive investors. Read More.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.78, for a total value of $1,414,612.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 892,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $96,241,073.20. The trade was a 1.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.57, for a total transaction of $2,127,411.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 4,334,747 shares in the company, valued at approximately $474,958,228.79. This trade represents a 0.45% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 125,628 shares of company stock worth $13,690,065 in the last 90 days. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WMT opened at $114.53 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $109.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $103.77. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $79.81 and a twelve month high of $117.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $912.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.05, a P/E/G ratio of 5.29 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The retailer reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $179.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $175.15 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.31% and a net margin of 3.26%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.58 EPS. Walmart has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.580-2.630 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on WMT shares. DA Davidson set a $130.00 price target on Walmart and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 21st. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $128.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 target price (up previously from $115.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $125.00 price target (up from $120.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 21st. Thirty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.37.

Walmart 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.