BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. Acquires New Shares in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Key Points

• BOK Financial Private Wealth acquired 18,511 Walmart shares worth approximately $2.1 million, while major institutional investors—including Vanguard, State Street and Geode—also maintained or increased their holdings.
• 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 revenues posted strong growth.
• Near-term concerns weighed on the stock: U.S. comparable sales rose only 2.6%, below expectations, and third-quarter guidance came in below consensus. Analysts retained generally bullish ratings but lowered several price targets, with an average target of $131.88.

BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 18,511 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $2,097,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Walmart by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 439,957,146 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $49,015,626,000 after acquiring an additional 4,304,436 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Walmart by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 184,805,978 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $19,046,104,000 after purchasing an additional 2,242,364 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 103,010,709 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $11,426,753,000 after purchasing an additional 6,517,394 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $6,458,529,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 40,626,852 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,526,238,000 after purchasing an additional 328,229 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Walmart Trading Down 0.1%

NASDAQ:WMT opened at $103.70 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $825.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company has a fifty day moving average of $113.35 and a 200 day moving average of $121.26. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $95.42 and a 52 week high of $135.15.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 20th. The retailer reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $187.94 billion for 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 company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.68 earnings per share. Walmart has set its Q3 2027 guidance at 0.620-0.640 EPS and its FY 2027 guidance at 2.800-2.870 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.86 earnings per share for the current year.

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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Walmart from $137.00 to $125.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $125.00 price objective (down from $140.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday. Tigress Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $155.00 target price (up from $150.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Walmart from $140.00 to $120.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Two 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 issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $131.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.34, for a total value of $308,386.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 569,153 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,523,730.02. This trade represents a 0.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 3,710 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.10, for a total value of $419,601.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 626,299 shares in the company, valued at approximately $70,834,416.90. This represents a 0.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 57,064 shares of company stock valued at $6,697,788 over the last ninety days. Corporate 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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