Walmart Inc. $WMT Stock: MORGUARD LINCLUDEN GLOBAL INVESTMENTS Ltd Grows Stake

MORGUARD LINCLUDEN GLOBAL INVESTMENTS Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 15.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 49,944 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,775 shares during the quarter. MORGUARD LINCLUDEN GLOBAL INVESTMENTS Ltd’s holdings in Walmart were worth $5,190,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Montgomery Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Walmart in the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Turim 21 Investimentos Ltda. bought a new stake in Walmart during the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Pingora Partners LLC bought a new stake in Walmart during the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. PMV Capital Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Walmart during the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Evolution Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Walmart by 44.3% in the 1st quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 316 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, CEO John Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.60, for a total transaction of $1,582,875.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 634,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $76,555,674. This trade represents a 2.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Latriece Watkins sold 5,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.00, for a total value of $575,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 110,432 shares in the company, valued at $12,699,680. This trade represents a 4.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 102,244 shares of company stock valued at $11,112,044 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on WMT shares. Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, August 31st. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Walmart from $141.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $128.00 price target (down from $137.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-three have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $132.41.

Walmart Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ WMT opened at $118.77 on Thursday. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $98.88 and a 12-month high of $135.15. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $109.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $118.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $942.29 billion, a PE ratio of 42.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The retailer reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $187.94 billion during 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 period in the previous 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. As a group, analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart lowered the cost of its Thanksgiving meal basket by $5, reinforcing its value proposition as consumers remain sensitive to food prices. Affordable holiday offerings could support traffic and market-share gains. Walmart Thanksgiving menu comparison
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart said AI training has increased technology confidence among its more than 2.1 million associates. Broader employee adoption could improve productivity and customer service over time. Walmart AI training for workers
• Positive Sentiment: The retailer is expanding its digital ecosystem by opening its store to AI shopping agents and adding controls for those transactions. Walmart is also partnering with Care Access to add three clinical-trial centers, supporting longer-term growth in digital commerce and healthcare services. Walmart AI shopping agents
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary continues to compare Walmart with Tesco and MercadoLibre, highlighting Walmart’s scale and expanding digital operations but also its elevated valuation and profitability considerations. WMT versus MercadoLibre
• Neutral Sentiment: Walmart’s potential to benefit from advertising, e-commerce, automation and healthcare remains part of the investment case, although execution and valuation are key factors for investors.
• Negative Sentiment: The Federal Trade Commission demanded data from Walmart and other companies about personalized pricing. The inquiry could increase compliance costs or create reputational and regulatory risks if regulators find consumers are treated unfairly, though no wrongdoing was alleged. FTC personalized pricing inquiry
• Negative Sentiment: Exchange-traded funds were reported as net sellers of Walmart shares, creating a modest technical headwind and signaling some portfolio rebalancing pressure.
• Negative Sentiment: A lawsuit alleges Walmart inflated the weight of shrimp packages with ice. Although the financial impact is unclear, the claim adds potential legal costs and negative publicity. Walmart shrimp lawsuit

About Walmart

Walmart Inc (NASDAQ:WMT) operates a global retail business through a network of supercenters, supermarkets, discount stores, neighborhood markets, warehouse clubs and e-commerce platforms. Its stores and websites sell a broad assortment of merchandise, including groceries, consumables, health and wellness products, apparel, electronics, home goods, toys and other general merchandise.

The company organizes its operations into Walmart U.S., Walmart International and Sam’s Club U.S. Walmart U.S.