HighTower Advisors LLC Decreases Holdings in Walmart Inc. $WMT

HighTower Advisors LLC trimmed its position in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,884,602 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 62,421 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $326,710,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WMT. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 439,957,146 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $49,015,626,000 after purchasing an additional 4,304,436 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 103,010,709 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $11,426,753,000 after buying an additional 6,517,394 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $6,458,529,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in Walmart by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 40,626,852 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,526,238,000 after buying an additional 328,229 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on WMT. Weiss Ratings cut Walmart from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, June 8th. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday. Finally, Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, May 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.50.

Key Headlines Impacting Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart’s history of earnings surprises, along with favorable estimates and other indicators tracked by Zacks, suggests the company could exceed consensus expectations again. Why Walmart Could Beat Earnings Estimates Again
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts are highlighting continued e-commerce momentum, improving profit mix and Walmart Connect’s rapidly growing advertising business. Advertising revenue carries higher margins and may help offset price investments, delivery costs and softer store-sales growth. As Retail Stagnates, Ad Dollars Help Walmart Stay the Course
• Positive Sentiment: DA Davidson reaffirmed its buy rating and assigned a $150 price target, indicating substantial potential appreciation if Walmart delivers on its growth and profitability plans. DA Davidson Walmart Rating
• Neutral Sentiment: The upcoming report is viewed as an important read on the U.S. consumer because Walmart serves both value-focused and higher-income shoppers. Its performance could provide broader insight into household spending trends. What Walmart and Target Earnings Could Tell Us About Consumers
• Neutral Sentiment: Walmart’s low-price strategy and thousands of rollbacks may sustain customer traffic, although rising fuel costs are creating pressure for lower-income shoppers. Can Walmart Sustain Growth as Household Budgets Tighten?
• Negative Sentiment: Same-store sales growth has cooled, and investors remain concerned that Walmart’s cautious annual outlook could limit upside. The company is increasingly relying on higher-margin advertising to support profitability as core retail momentum moderates. Walmart Investors Hang Hopes on Retail Media as Sales Cool
• Negative Sentiment: Several previews warn that WMT’s valuation is demanding, while fuel costs, cautious consumers and operating-margin pressure could make it difficult to justify further gains. One report also frames the company’s long dividend-growth streak as potentially vulnerable if earnings and cash flow weaken. Walmart Strong Company but Overvalued Before Earnings

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.19, for a total value of $342,751.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 574,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $67,953,695.07. This represents a 0.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Latriece Watkins sold 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 120,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,300,550.91. This represents a 8.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 70,189 shares of company stock valued at $8,377,320. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT stock opened at $115.20 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $916.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The business has a fifty day moving average of $114.15 and a 200 day moving average of $121.52. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $95.42 and a 1 year high of $135.15.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66. The company had revenue of $177.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $174.84 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.25% and a net margin of 3.13%.The firm’s revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.61 EPS. Walmart has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.750-2.850 EPS and its Q2 2027 guidance at 0.720-0.740 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.88 earnings per share for the current year.

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.