Trust Co. of Vermont Makes New $18.04 Million Investment in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 159,275 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $18,039,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth about $6,458,529,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 188.1% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,663,172 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,199,907,000 after purchasing an additional 7,614,172 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Walmart by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 103,010,709 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $11,426,753,000 after purchasing an additional 6,517,394 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors bought a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $592,848,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Walmart by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 439,957,146 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $49,015,626,000 after buying an additional 4,304,436 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, EVP David W. Guggina sold 11,978 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.82, for a total value of $1,435,203.96. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 125,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,985,527.94. This represents a 8.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.34, for a total transaction of $308,386.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 569,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $60,523,730.02. The trade was a 0.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 57,064 shares of company stock valued at $6,697,788. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Key Walmart News

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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on WMT. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Walmart from $140.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday. Roth Capital reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday. Guggenheim set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Walmart and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.88.

Walmart Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:WMT opened at $103.70 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $95.42 and a 52-week high of $135.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $825.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $113.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $121.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.77.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The retailer reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $186.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.68 earnings per share. The firm’s 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, equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.