American National Bank & Trust Trims Stock Position in Walmart Inc. $WMT

American National Bank & Trust cut its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 246,566 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 13,045 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up 2.3% of American National Bank & Trust’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. American National Bank & Trust’s holdings in Walmart were worth $25,623,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Walmart by 1.1% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 188,036,646 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $21,297,031,000 after acquiring an additional 2,107,781 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Walmart in the second quarter worth $7,455,131,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Walmart by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 28,142,040 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,497,493,000 after acquiring an additional 1,681,353 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,905,655,000. Finally, Amundi grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 44.4% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 20,796,957 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,355,463,000 after acquiring an additional 6,393,326 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart Connect is expanding beyond Walmart’s own platforms. The company will let advertisers use Walmart shopper data across Warner Bros. Discovery television properties, Spotify audio and Yahoo, including programmatic audience activation and performance measurement. The broader reach could accelerate advertising growth and improve Walmart’s profit mix. How Is Walmart Turning Shopper Data Into a Bigger Advertising Business?
• Positive Sentiment: Digital-profit momentum remains strong. Recent coverage highlights 43% growth in Walmart Connect revenue, 24% year-over-year U.S. e-commerce growth and double-digit membership gains. Advertising, delivery and membership revenue can generate better margins than traditional retail sales. Can Walmart Connect Keep Powering WMT’s Digital Profit Growth?
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart is participating in a new AI-agent commerce standard. Meta and Sierra are developing the Personal Agent Protocol with Walmart and other companies, potentially allowing consumers’ AI agents to interact directly with businesses. Participation could help Walmart remain prominent as AI-driven shopping develops. Meta and Sierra Launch Protocol for AI Agents to Interact With Businesses
• Positive Sentiment: Unusually heavy call-option activity—267,098 contracts, roughly 99% above average daily volume—signals increased bullish speculation, although it does not guarantee future gains.
• Neutral Sentiment: Walmart and Costco are reportedly among the retailers most frequently cited by AI shopping agents, an early indication of strong consumer awareness but not yet a direct earnings catalyst. Which Retailers Do AI Agents Cite the Most?
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation remains a concern. Walmart trades at approximately 39 times earnings and remains below its 52-week high, leaving the stock vulnerable if advertising or e-commerce growth slows. Its low-margin retail model and modest net margin also limit room for execution mistakes.

Walmart Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ WMT traded up $1.06 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $108.26. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,330,541 shares, compared to its average volume of 25,217,717. The firm has a market cap of $858.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.01 and a beta of 0.58. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $98.88 and a 12-month high of $135.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The business’s 50 day moving average is $108.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $116.64.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The retailer reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.07. Walmart had a net margin of 3.00% and a return on equity of 21.83%. The business had revenue of $187.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $186.64 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.68 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.87 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Truist Financial set a $114.00 target price on Walmart and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Roth Capital reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Evercore set a $125.00 price objective on Walmart in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.74.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, CEO John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.66, for a total value of $1,399,912.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 647,912 shares in the company, valued at $69,106,293.92. This trade represents a 1.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Christopher Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.65, for a total value of $309,285.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 566,253 shares in the company, valued at $60,390,882.45. This represents a 0.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 sold a total of 81,219 shares of company stock worth $8,604,429 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

About Walmart

Walmart Inc (NASDAQ: WMT) is a multinational retailer that operates supercenters, discount stores, neighborhood markets, warehouse clubs and e-commerce platforms. Its merchandise includes groceries, apparel, electronics, home goods, health and wellness products, household essentials and general merchandise. Walmart also provides services such as grocery pickup and delivery, pharmacy services, financial products and digital advertising.

The company serves customers through its Walmart U.S., Walmart International and Sam’s Club segments.