Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 2.2% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 772,302 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,474 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $79,593,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 397,264.9% in the second quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 104,514,912 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $10,496,702,000 after acquiring an additional 104,488,610 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the second quarter worth about $5,367,770,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 9,648.7% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,486,374 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,123,138,000 after purchasing an additional 11,368,549 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Walmart by 1.4% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 431,817,510 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $42,223,116,000 after acquiring an additional 5,856,468 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 23.5% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 19,493,644 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,902,775,000 after purchasing an additional 3,710,506 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Executive succession clarified: John Furner will become CEO next month and promoted longtime insider David Guggina to CEO of Walmart U.S., a move investors interpret as continuity-focused and supportive for execution on omnichannel and AI strategies. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: AI/digital momentum: Coverage highlights Walmart’s AI initiatives and partnerships (Google/Alphabet, OpenAI/ChatGPT) as starting to produce sales/efficiency upside — a strategic story driving valuation premium and analyst optimism. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Fintech and ancillary growth: Walmart‑backed OnePay reached a $4B valuation milestone, signaling potential non‑retail upside from financial-services partnerships. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support: Multiple firms recently reiterated/raised Buy/Outperform views and targets, reinforcing short‑term institutional demand. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Competitive positioning: Analysts note Walmart is narrowing Amazon’s online lead — a positive strategic trend but one that still leaves intense competition and execution requirements. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: Several senior execs disclosed share sales (combined millions), which can be interpreted as routine diversification but may pressure sentiment short term. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: International leadership turnover: Walmart International CEO Kathryn McLay will depart (staying through transition), raising near‑term succession and execution questions for overseas growth. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Legal/tax uncertainty: India’s top court is set to rule on tax treatment of the 2018 Flipkart stake sale (Tiger Global → Walmart), a potential precedent with financial or reputational implications. Read More.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on WMT. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $128.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Mizuho set a $125.00 price target on shares of Walmart and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $119.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $120.00 price target on shares of Walmart and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Thirty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.03.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel Danker sold 4,365 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.19, for a total transaction of $524,629.35. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 238,583 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,675,290.77. The trade was a 1.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.57, for a total transaction of $2,127,411.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 4,334,747 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $474,958,228.79. This trade represents a 0.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 139,215 shares of company stock worth $15,502,810 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $119.70 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $111.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $104.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.80. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $79.81 and a twelve month high of $121.24. The firm has a market cap of $954.03 billion, a PE ratio of 41.85, a PEG ratio of 5.10 and a beta of 0.66.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The retailer reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $179.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $175.15 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 3.26% and a return on equity of 21.31%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.58 EPS. Walmart has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.580-2.630 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal 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.