B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Raises Position in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Key Points

• B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG increased its Walmart stake by 3.6% in the second quarter, adding 10,977 shares to own 315,661 shares valued at approximately $35.8 million.
• Walmart beat quarterly expectations with adjusted EPS of $0.81 and revenue of $187.94 billion, while e-commerce, advertising and membership revenue posted strong growth.
• Investors face a mixed outlook: U.S. comparable sales missed expectations and third-quarter guidance was below consensus, prompting some analysts to lower price targets despite maintaining bullish ratings.

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG raised its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT - Free Report) by 3.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 315,661 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 10,977 shares during the quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG's holdings in Walmart were worth $35,751,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Entrust Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Merkkuri Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Walmart during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 57.4% in the fourth quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Sankala Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

More Walmart News

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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday. BTIG Research cut their price objective on Walmart from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Truist Financial set a $114.00 target price on shares of Walmart and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Roth Capital restated a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $131.88.

Walmart Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of WMT opened at $103.70 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $95.42 and a 52-week high of $135.15. The stock has a market cap of $825.25 billion, a PE ratio of 37.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.61. The firm's fifty day moving average is $113.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $121.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 20th. The retailer reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.07. The company 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%. Walmart's revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company 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 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, EVP Latriece Watkins sold 11,000 shares of Walmart 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 120,203 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,300,550.91. The trade was a 8.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 3,775 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.64, for a total value of $413,891.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 630,009 shares in the company, valued at $69,074,186.76. This trade represents a 0.60% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 57,064 shares of company stock valued at $6,697,788 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

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.

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