Ieq Capital LLC Makes New Investment in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 681,087 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $77,140,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in WMT. MFA Wealth Services raised its position in Walmart by 0.7% during the first quarter. MFA Wealth Services now owns 10,909 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,356,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Realta Investment Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Realta Investment Advisors now owns 4,089 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $508,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Compton Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Compton Financial Group LLC now owns 2,081 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Group LLC increased its position in Walmart by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Group LLC now owns 9,636 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,074,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Calton & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in Walmart by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Calton & Associates Inc. now owns 27,220 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,033,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Freedom Capital upgraded Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Evercore set a $125.00 target price on Walmart in a report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Walmart from $137.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Walmart has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.88.

Key Headlines Impacting Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart’s Sparky AI shopping assistant reportedly generates 40% higher customer spending among users, while the company is also integrating AI into advertising and exploring technology partnerships with OpenAI and ChatGPT. These efforts could lift conversion, basket sizes and future digital-advertising revenue. Walmart Sparky AI article
• Positive Sentiment: The launch of Scenario, a women’s fashion brand with most products priced below $25, is designed to attract younger, trend-conscious shoppers and strengthen Walmart’s position in apparel. Its value pricing may help the retailer compete more directly with Amazon. Walmart Scenario fashion brand article
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts’ consensus price target of approximately $128 remains well above recent trading levels, suggesting some Wall Street analysts view the selloff as excessive. Walmart also exceeded quarterly EPS and revenue expectations and raised its full-year sales-growth outlook to 4%-5%.
• Neutral Sentiment: Walmart is rolling out NFC tap-to-pay across U.S. stores and clubs, improving checkout convenience and aligning with broader mobile-wallet adoption. The change may support engagement but is unlikely to materially alter near-term earnings. Walmart NFC rollout article
• Negative Sentiment: U.S. comparable sales increased only 2.6%, below the 3.8% consensus estimate and representing Walmart’s slowest comparable-sales growth in six years. Higher gasoline prices and broader economic pressure may be making consumers more cautious, despite the earnings beat. Walmart comparable-sales miss article
• Negative Sentiment: Amazon’s share of U.S. clothing spending doubled to 17% in 2025 from 8.5% in 2019, while Walmart’s share edged lower. The widening gap raises concerns about Walmart’s ability to gain share in an important retail category. Amazon and Walmart clothing-share article
• Negative Sentiment: Commentators argue WMT still trades at a premium valuation—roughly 36 times forward earnings—despite decelerating growth and cautious consumer trends. That leaves less room for disappointment and has amplified the post-earnings decline.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $105.38 on Wednesday. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $95.42 and a twelve month high of $135.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market cap of $838.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.61. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $112.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $120.93.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 20th. The retailer reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.07. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.83% and a net margin of 3.00%.The company had revenue of $187.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $186.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.68 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. 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, research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Latriece Watkins sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.97, for a total transaction of $1,308,670.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 120,203 shares in the company, valued at $14,300,550.91. This represents a 8.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP David W. Guggina sold 11,978 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 125,067 shares in the company, valued at $14,985,527.94. This represents a 8.74% 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 ninety days, insiders sold 57,064 shares of company stock valued at $6,697,788. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.