Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) EVP John Furner Sells 13,125 Shares

Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) EVP John Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.99, for a total transaction of $1,574,868.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 727,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $87,251,328.45. This trade represents a 1.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Walmart Stock Up 0.4%

WMT stock traded up $0.50 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $119.70. 410,231,342 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 61,927,707. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $111.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $104.34. The company has a market capitalization of $954.03 billion, a PE ratio of 41.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.12 and a beta of 0.66. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $79.81 and a twelve month high of $121.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last issued its 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 business had revenue of $179.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $175.15 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 3.26% and a return on equity of 21.31%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.58 EPS. Walmart has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.580-2.630 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 target price (up from $115.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, January 8th. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $128.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $129.00 target price (up from $122.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $135.00 price target (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday. Thirty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.03.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Walmart by 0.9% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 435,652,710 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $44,898,368,000 after acquiring an additional 3,835,200 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,242,364 shares during the last quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 397,264.9% in the 2nd quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 104,514,912 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $10,496,702,000 after purchasing an additional 104,488,610 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 0.3% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 94,557,532 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $9,199,712,000 after purchasing an additional 263,718 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Walmart during the second quarter worth approximately $5,367,770,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Executive succession clarified: John Furner will become CEO next month and promoted longtime insider David Guggina to CEO of Walmart U.S., a move investors interpret as continuity-focused and supportive for execution on omnichannel and AI strategies. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: AI/digital momentum: Coverage highlights Walmart’s AI initiatives and partnerships (Google/Alphabet, OpenAI/ChatGPT) as starting to produce sales/efficiency upside — a strategic story driving valuation premium and analyst optimism. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Fintech and ancillary growth: Walmart‑backed OnePay reached a $4B valuation milestone, signaling potential non‑retail upside from financial-services partnerships. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support: Multiple firms recently reiterated/raised Buy/Outperform views and targets, reinforcing short‑term institutional demand. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Competitive positioning: Analysts note Walmart is narrowing Amazon’s online lead — a positive strategic trend but one that still leaves intense competition and execution requirements. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: Several senior execs disclosed share sales (combined millions), which can be interpreted as routine diversification but may pressure sentiment short term. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: International leadership turnover: Walmart International CEO Kathryn McLay will depart (staying through transition), raising near‑term succession and execution questions for overseas growth. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Legal/tax uncertainty: India’s top court is set to rule on tax treatment of the 2018 Flipkart stake sale (Tiger Global → Walmart), a potential precedent with financial or reputational implications. Read More.

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.