726,389 Shares in Walmart Inc. $WMT Acquired by Jupiter Topco LLC

Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 726,389 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $82,243,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Merited Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the second quarter valued at $535,000. Bristol Gate Capital Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the second quarter valued at $60,763,000. EFG International AG purchased a new stake in Walmart in the 2nd quarter worth about $50,678,000. Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart during the 2nd quarter worth about $13,113,000. Finally, Delos Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Walmart during the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,380,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart’s fiscal second-quarter results showed continued momentum beyond traditional store sales: revenue reached approximately $187.9 billion, global e-commerce grew 23%, and advertising revenue increased 38%. These higher-growth businesses could support future margins and cash flow. Walmart Growth Engine Hums
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and commentary continue to point to Walmart’s expanding e-commerce, digital advertising, memberships, convenience-led fulfillment, automation and AI initiatives as reasons the recent decline could represent a long-term buying opportunity. Walmart’s scale and value-focused pricing remain important competitive advantages. Walmart Continues to Grow Beyond Retail
• Neutral Sentiment: Walmart settled a U.S. Justice Department lawsuit alleging that its pharmacies unlawfully contributed to the opioid epidemic. Resolving the case removes an overhang and reduces legal uncertainty, although the financial terms and any broader implications remain important for investors. Walmart Settles U.S. Opioid Lawsuit
• Negative Sentiment: Recent coverage highlights a potentially tougher consumer environment. Walmart’s comparable sales growth was 3.4% excluding pharmacy-related items, while middle-income shoppers appear increasingly focused on necessities and limiting discretionary purchases. Walmart and Home Depot Results
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are also questioning whether Walmart’s valuation adequately reflects its strong performance. A high earnings multiple, slower core sales growth and the stock’s position below its moving averages have amplified the impact of the recent selloff. Walmart Selloff Analysis
• Negative Sentiment: Executive Vice President Daniel Danker sold 50,644 shares worth approximately $5.3 million. The sale was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan to cover taxes on vested equity awards, making it a weaker bearish signal than discretionary insider selling. Walmart Insider Trading Filing

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Walmart from $140.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 21st. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $125.00 target price (down from $140.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Walmart from $137.00 to $131.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Guggenheim set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Walmart and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. 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, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.88.

Walmart Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of WMT stock opened at $103.09 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $111.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $120.45. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $95.79 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 company has a market capitalization of $820.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.22, a PEG ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.61.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The retailer reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $187.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $186.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.68 earnings per share. The company’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, research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.87 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP David W. Guggina sold 11,978 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 125,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,985,527.94. This trade represents a 8.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.34, for a total transaction of $308,386.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 569,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $60,523,730.02. This represents a 0.51% 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. Insiders sold a total of 77,292 shares of company stock valued at $8,421,143 in the last quarter. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart 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.