Walmart Inc. $WMT Stock Sold by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. cut its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,839,833 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 10,762 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $295,550,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Strait & Sound Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Strait & Sound Wealth Management LLC now owns 25,443 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,162,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Kassira Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.8% in the third quarter. Kassira Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,538 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,199,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Bernicke Wealth Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.7% in the second quarter. Bernicke Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 12,548 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,421,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. MBE Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.0% in the third quarter. MBE Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,306 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $967,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BCM Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.1% during the first quarter. BCM Advisors LLC now owns 2,956 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $385,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Latriece Watkins sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.00, for a total transaction of $575,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 110,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,699,680. This represents a 4.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 3,346 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.51, for a total value of $416,610.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 615,013 shares in the company, valued at approximately $76,575,268.63. This trade represents a 0.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 have sold a total of 268,222 shares of company stock valued at $31,604,051 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Walmart

Investors following WMT have been watching these stories:

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America raised its price target to $139 from $126 and reiterated a Buy rating, citing potential market-share gains and stronger earnings growth, including opportunities from Walmart’s advertising and AI businesses. BTIG also reaffirmed Buy with a $140 target. Walmart’s AI and advertising businesses strengthen Bank of America’s bullish case
• Neutral Sentiment: Walmart will report third-quarter results and host its investor call on Nov. 19. The release is a near-term catalyst, as investors look for evidence of a rebound after a weak Q2 and whether results can support the stock’s valuation. Walmart to host third-quarter earnings conference call
• Negative Sentiment: Some coverage cautions that the elevated valuation leaves little room for disappointment: the upcoming quarter needs to demonstrate sustained growth and justify the premium. Walmart earnings preview: Q3 has to justify the high valuation

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WMT opened at $126.19 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $114.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $118.74. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $98.88 and a 52-week high of $135.15. The company has a market cap of $1.00 trillion, a PE ratio of 44.41, a PEG ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $187.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $186.64 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 3.00% and a return on equity of 21.83%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.68 earnings per share. 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, analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.88 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WMT. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Walmart from $147.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Guggenheim set a $130.00 price objective on Walmart and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 target price (down from $140.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Freedom Broker upgraded Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $135.00 target price (down from $145.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $131.51.

About Walmart

Walmart is a multinational retailer that operates discount stores, supercenters, neighborhood markets, and membership warehouse clubs. Its business includes Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam’s Club. The company sells groceries and a broad range of general merchandise, including apparel, electronics, household goods, and health and wellness products. Walmart also serves customers through e-commerce, with services such as order pickup and delivery. Founded by Sam Walton in 1962, Walmart is headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas.