Meridian Wealth Management LLC Sells 16,230 Shares of Walmart Inc. $WMT

Posted by Stanley Muller on Aug 20th, 2026

Walmart logo Meridian Wealth Management LLC lowered its stake in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT – Free Report) by 9.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 157,755 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 16,230 shares during the quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $17,867,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Advisortrust Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 20.2% in the 1st quarter. Advisortrust Partners LLC now owns 67,142 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,344,000 after acquiring an additional 11,283 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 253.3% during the 1st quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA now owns 384,034 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $47,728,000 after purchasing an additional 275,337 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 2.9% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 2,416,580 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $300,333,000 after purchasing an additional 68,632 shares in the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. boosted its position in Walmart by 42.1% during the fourth quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 275,341 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $30,676,000 after purchasing an additional 81,635 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HORAN Wealth LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 55.7% in the first quarter. HORAN Wealth LLC now owns 81,544 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $9,931,000 after purchasing an additional 29,184 shares during 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: Walmart enters the report with a strong earnings track record, having exceeded revenue expectations for 25 consecutive quarters. Analysts also see potential for another earnings beat, supported by e-commerce momentum and a growing contribution from Walmart Connect advertising. Walmart Q2 Preview
Positive Sentiment: The company’s grocery leadership, expanding online business and higher-margin retail-media operations remain important long-term strengths. Advertising growth could help offset the cost of competitive pricing and faster delivery. DA Davidson also reiterated a Buy rating. Retail stagnates, ad dollars help Walmart stay the course
Neutral Sentiment: Options traders expect a significant post-earnings move, highlighting elevated volatility and the possibility that results or guidance could materially change the stock’s near-term direction. Barchart data ahead of Walmart earnings
Negative Sentiment: Thousands of price reductions may support customer traffic but could slow sales growth and pressure profit margins. Same-store sales momentum has moderated, increasing investor dependence on advertising and other higher-margin businesses. Walmart sales growth expected to slow
Negative Sentiment: Several previews characterize WMT as expensive ahead of earnings, with a price-to-earnings ratio near 40 and a cautious outlook already weighing on sentiment. Investors may require a clear earnings or guidance upside to justify the valuation. Walmart valuation concern ahead of Q2 earnings
Negative Sentiment: Walmart’s grocery advantage faces a margin test as shoppers increasingly purchase additional goods from Amazon, while elevated costs and cautious consumers could limit profitability. Walmart grocery margin test

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 3,710 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.10, for a total transaction of $419,601.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 626,299 shares in the company, valued at approximately $70,834,416.90. The trade was a 0.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Latriece Watkins sold 11,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.97, for a total transaction of $1,308,670.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 120,203 shares in the company, valued at $14,300,550.91. This trade represents a 8.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 54,164 shares of company stock worth $6,389,402 in the last 90 days. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT stock opened at $114.30 on Thursday. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $95.42 and a fifty-two week high of $135.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $909.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.11, a PEG ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 0.61. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $114.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $121.49.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.66. The firm had revenue of $177.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $174.84 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 3.13% and a return on equity of 21.25%. Walmart’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.61 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Walmart from a “market perform” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $142.00 target price on shares of Walmart and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.50.

View Our Latest Analysis on WMT

Walmart Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.