Profund Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT – Free Report) by 7.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 343,690 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 26,857 shares during the period. Walmart comprises approximately 1.0% of Profund Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Profund Advisors LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $35,716,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the second quarter valued at approximately $7,455,131,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in Walmart during the second quarter worth $2,905,655,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in Walmart during the second quarter worth approximately $796,677,000. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in Walmart by 54.0% in the 2nd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 18,607,297 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,107,462,000 after purchasing an additional 6,525,224 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its holdings in Walmart by 44.4% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 20,796,957 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,355,463,000 after purchasing an additional 6,393,326 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Walmart Stock Performance
Shares of NASDAQ WMT opened at $123.51 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $98.88 and a 1 year high of $135.15. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $110.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $118.40. The firm has a market cap of $979.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.59, a PEG ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.77.
Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 20th. The retailer reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $187.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $186.64 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.83% and a net margin of 3.00%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business 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 forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Insider Activity
In related news, EVP Christopher Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.60, for a total transaction of $349,740.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 563,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $67,940,371.80. The trade was a 0.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 3,990 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.41, for a total transaction of $416,595.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 618,359 shares in the company, valued at $64,562,863.19. The trade was a 0.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 102,244 shares of company stock valued at $11,112,044. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of brokerages have issued reports on WMT. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $128.00 target price (down from $137.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, August 21st. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday. They set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, August 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Walmart from $137.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Gordon Haskett downgraded Walmart from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $132.41.
Check Out Our Latest Report on Walmart
Walmart News Roundup
Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Energy investment expands Walmart’s customer offerings: Walmart is making a strategic investment in Base Power and will offer the company’s home battery systems to Walmart customers and Sam’s Club members beginning in November. The systems are designed to reduce energy costs and provide backup power, creating a potential new customer benefit while expanding Walmart’s ecosystem beyond traditional retail. Walmart and Base Power announce strategic agreement
- Positive Sentiment: Major automation agreement with Symbotic: Walmart expanded its commercial relationship with warehouse-automation provider Symbotic in a deal valued at approximately $6 billion. Greater automation could improve fulfillment capacity, labor efficiency and inventory management, although the investment also carries execution and capital-spending risks. Symbotic stock jumps on Walmart automation deal
- Positive Sentiment: Strong fundamentals continue to support the stock: Walmart’s latest quarterly results exceeded consensus estimates for both earnings and revenue, with revenue rising year over year. Analysts and market commentary continue to highlight earnings growth and price strength as reasons to remain constructive on WMT. Earnings growth and price strength make Walmart a stock to watch
- Neutral Sentiment: Healthcare expansion offers a longer-term growth avenue: Walmart has broadened its Better Care Services platform into a healthcare marketplace connecting customers with third-party providers. The initiative could increase customer engagement, but its financial contribution is not yet clear. Walmart launched a healthcare services marketplace
- Negative Sentiment: Competitive and regulatory concerns remain: DoorDash’s proposed $17 billion acquisition of Instacart is intended partly to strengthen competition with Walmart and Amazon in local commerce and grocery delivery. Separately, the FTC is seeking information from Walmart about the use of personal data in personalized pricing, creating potential compliance and reputational risks. FTC orders Walmart and others to share pricing data information
- Negative Sentiment: Valuation comparisons could limit upside: Walmart trades at a substantially higher earnings multiple than Target, while commentary suggests Walmart’s comparable-sales growth may be moderating. That premium leaves the stock more exposed if growth expectations weaken. Target trades at a fraction of Walmart’s valuation
Walmart Profile
Walmart Inc (NASDAQ:WMT) operates a global retail business through a network of supercenters, supermarkets, discount stores, neighborhood markets, warehouse clubs and e-commerce platforms. Its stores and websites sell a broad assortment of merchandise, including groceries, consumables, health and wellness products, apparel, electronics, home goods, toys and other general merchandise.
The company organizes its operations into Walmart U.S., Walmart International and Sam’s Club U.S. Walmart U.S.
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