Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) EVP Sells $308,386.00 in Stock

Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.34, for a total value of $308,386.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 569,153 shares in the company, valued at $60,523,730.02. This trade represents a 0.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Christopher James Nicholas also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, June 18th, Christopher James Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of Walmart stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.19, for a total value of $342,751.00.

Walmart Price Performance

NASDAQ WMT traded down $0.14 during trading on Friday, hitting $103.70. 44,360,003 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 25,623,295. The company has a market capitalization of $825.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.27 and a beta of 0.61. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $113.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $121.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. 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 data on Thursday, August 20th. The retailer reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $187.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $186.62 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.25% and a net margin of 3.13%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $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. As a group, analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.88 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. AXQ Capital LP boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 214.8% in the 2nd quarter. AXQ Capital LP now owns 28,488 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,227,000 after buying an additional 19,438 shares in the last quarter. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC increased its position in Walmart by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC now owns 26,063 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,952,000 after buying an additional 1,605 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 16.0% in the second quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 19,367 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,194,000 after buying an additional 2,666 shares during the last quarter. Greenspring Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 2.4% in the second quarter. Greenspring Advisors LLC now owns 11,744 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,330,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Waycross Investment Management Co grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.1% during the second quarter. Waycross Investment Management Co now owns 12,721 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,441,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Walmart

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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on WMT shares. Gordon Haskett downgraded shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating in a report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday. DA Davidson set a $132.00 price target on shares of Walmart and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Walmart from $140.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.88.

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.