Aviva PLC Buys 539,504 Shares of Walmart Inc. $WMT

Aviva PLC raised its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 16.4% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,833,720 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 539,504 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up about 0.8% of Aviva PLC’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest position. Aviva PLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $374,861,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Weatherly Asset Management L. P. grew its holdings in Walmart by 7.0% in the 2nd quarter. Weatherly Asset Management L. P. now owns 56,140 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,489,000 after acquiring an additional 3,696 shares during the last quarter. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 34.6% in the first quarter. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management now owns 38,213 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,355,000 after acquiring an additional 9,831 shares during the period. Ally Financial Inc. bought a new position in Walmart during the first quarter valued at $2,107,000. Night Squared LP bought a new position in Walmart during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,052,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 11.8% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 7,959,752 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $698,787,000 after buying an additional 838,689 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $102.60 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $79.81 and a 52-week high of $109.57. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $103.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $99.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $818.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.57, a P/E/G ratio of 4.83 and a beta of 0.67.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 21st. The retailer reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.06). Walmart had a net margin of 3.08% and a return on equity of 21.45%. The company had revenue of $169.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $174.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.67 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Walmart has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.580-0.600 EPS. FY 2026 guidance at 2.520-2.620 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WMT shares. DA Davidson set a $117.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $117.00 target price on shares of Walmart and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $111.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Walmart from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $118.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Thirty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $113.40.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Friday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.83, for a total transaction of $415,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 1,048,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $108,861,082.65. This trade represents a 0.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.21, for a total value of $2,003,925.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 4,373,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $451,396,778.96. This trade represents a 0.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 151,038 shares of company stock worth $15,531,616 in the last 90 days. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Profile

Walmart Inc engages in the operation of retail, wholesale, other units, and eCommerce worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam's Club. It operates supercenters, supermarkets, hypermarkets, warehouse clubs, cash and carry stores, and discount stores under Walmart and Walmart Neighborhood Market brands; membership-only warehouse clubs; ecommerce websites, such as walmart.com.mx, walmart.ca, flipkart.com, PhonePe and other sites; and mobile commerce applications.