Banco BTG Pactual S.A. Boosts Stock Position in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Key Points

• Banco BTG Pactual increased its Walmart stake by 54.8% in the second quarter, owning 128,500 shares valued at approximately $14.6 million. Institutional investors collectively hold 26.76% of Walmart’s stock.
• Walmart beat quarterly expectations with adjusted EPS of $0.81 and revenue of $187.94 billion, up 5.9% year over year; e-commerce, advertising, and membership businesses posted strong growth.
• Despite a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and average price target of $131.88, analysts lowered some targets and Walmart’s third-quarter guidance fell below expectations, reflecting weaker-than-anticipated U.S. comparable-sales growth.

Banco BTG Pactual S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT - Free Report) by 54.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 128,500 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 45,500 shares during the quarter. Walmart comprises 1.2% of Banco BTG Pactual S.A.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Banco BTG Pactual S.A.'s holdings in Walmart were worth $14,554,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WMT. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.8% during the second quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp now owns 45,725 shares of the retailer's stock worth $5,179,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. Auxano Advisors LLC grew its position in Walmart by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Auxano Advisors LLC now owns 5,979 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $677,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 26,723 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,027,000 after buying an additional 430 shares during the period. Oarsman Capital Inc. increased its stake in Walmart by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Oarsman Capital Inc. now owns 44,246 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $5,011,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. Finally, MidFirst Bank lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. MidFirst Bank now owns 77,807 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,812,000 after acquiring an additional 316 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on WMT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Walmart from $137.00 to $125.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Guggenheim set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Walmart and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Freedom Capital raised Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded Walmart from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Walmart presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $131.88.

Walmart Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WMT opened at $103.70 on Friday. 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 Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $95.42 and a fifty-two 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 3.93 and a beta of 0.61. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $113.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $121.26.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 20th. The retailer reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.07. Walmart had a net margin of 3.00% and a return on equity of 21.83%. The firm had revenue of $187.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $186.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.68 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Walmart has set its Q3 2027 guidance at 0.620-0.640 EPS and its FY 2027 guidance at 2.800-2.870 EPS. Analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.63, for a total value of $2,303,320.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,174,579 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $495,230,306.77. This trade represents a 0.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 David W. Guggina sold 11,978 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.82, for a total transaction of $1,435,203.96. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 125,067 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,985,527.94. The trade was a 8.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 sold a total of 57,064 shares of company stock valued at $6,697,788 in the last 90 days. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Walmart

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.

About Walmart

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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