97,113 Walmart Inc. $WMT Shares Acquired by Americana Partners LLC

Key Points

• Americana Partners increased its Walmart stake by 17.4% in the third quarter, acquiring 97,113 shares and bringing its holdings to 656,531 shares valued at approximately $68.2 million. Institutional investors collectively own 26.76% of Walmart.
• Walmart’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, with earnings of $0.81 per share and revenue of $187.94 billion, up 5.9% year over year. Analysts maintain a consensus “Buy” rating, with an average price target of $132.41, although several firms recently lowered their targets.
• The company is expanding beyond core retail through a roughly $6 billion Symbotic automation agreement, a home-energy partnership with Base Power and a healthcare marketplace. However, regulatory scrutiny, competitive pressures and Walmart’s elevated valuation could limit further upside.

Americana Partners LLC boosted its stake in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT - Free Report) by 17.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 656,531 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 97,113 shares during the quarter. Walmart accounts for about 1.5% of Americana Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Americana Partners LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $68,227,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Compton Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Compton Financial Group LLC now owns 2,081 shares of the retailer's stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Strait & Sound Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.3% in the first quarter. Strait & Sound Wealth Management LLC now owns 25,443 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,162,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Lodestar Private Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 0.9% during the first quarter. Lodestar Private Asset Management LLC now owns 9,577 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,190,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Bernicke Wealth Management Ltd. raised its stake in Walmart by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Bernicke Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 12,548 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,421,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MBE Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. MBE Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,306 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $967,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, EVP Daniel Danker sold 50,644 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.35, for a total transaction of $5,335,345.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 201,672 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,246,145.20. This represents a 20.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 3,990 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.41, for a total value of $416,595.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 618,359 shares of the company's stock, valued at $64,562,863.19. This trade represents 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 102,244 shares of company stock valued at $11,112,044. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Key Walmart News

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WMT shares. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $128.00 price target (down from $137.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, August 21st. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Walmart from $141.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Roth Capital reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-three have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $132.41.

Walmart Price Performance

Walmart stock opened at $123.51 on Friday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $110.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $118.40. 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 Inc. has a 1 year low of $98.88 and a 1 year high of $135.15. The company has a market capitalization of $979.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.38 and a beta of 0.58.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 20th. The retailer reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 quarter last year, the company posted $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. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.88 earnings per share for the current year.

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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