Planning Directions Inc. Takes Position in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Planning Directions Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 5,917 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $670,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WMT. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at $6,458,529,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 188.1% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,663,172 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,199,907,000 after buying an additional 7,614,172 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 54.0% during the second quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 18,607,297 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,107,462,000 after buying an additional 6,525,224 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 6.8% during the fourth 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. Finally, Capital International Investors purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $592,848,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.34, for a total value of $308,386.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 569,153 shares in the company, valued at $60,523,730.02. This represents a 0.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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 David W. Guggina sold 11,978 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 125,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,985,527.94. This trade represents a 8.74% 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 57,064 shares of company stock worth $6,697,788 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Walmart

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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on WMT. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 price objective (down from $140.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday. Guggenheim set a $130.00 target price on Walmart and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. DA Davidson set a $132.00 target price on Walmart and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Oppenheimer cut Walmart from a “market perform” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.88.

Walmart Stock Performance

NASDAQ WMT opened at $103.70 on Monday. 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 $113.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $121.24. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $95.42 and a 12-month high of $135.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $825.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.44, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.61.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The retailer reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $187.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $186.64 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 3.00% and a return on equity of 21.83%. The business’s revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.68 EPS. Walmart has set its Q3 2027 guidance at 0.620-0.640 EPS and its FY 2027 guidance at 2.800-2.870 EPS. Research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.86 EPS for the current year.

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.