Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Buys 10,759 Shares of Walmart Inc. $WMT

Key Points

• Citizens Financial Group increased its Walmart stake by 5%, purchasing 10,759 additional shares to hold 223,983 shares valued at approximately $25.4 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of Walmart.
• Walmart reported quarterly adjusted EPS of $0.81 and revenue of $187.94 billion, exceeding analyst expectations, while revenue rose 5.9% year over year. However, third-quarter guidance was below consensus, reflecting softer near-term expectations.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive view, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.88, although some firms recently lowered targets and one downgraded the stock to “accumulate.”

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT - Free Report) by 5.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 223,983 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 10,759 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI's holdings in Walmart were worth $25,368,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 28.8% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 98,150 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,868,000 after purchasing an additional 21,939 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,849 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $800,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the period. Peterson Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Walmart by 3.5% in the first quarter. Peterson Wealth Management now owns 50,307 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,416,000 after purchasing an additional 1,715 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.9% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 13,008 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,272,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.2% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 91,341 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,931,000 after buying an additional 1,048 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WMT. KeyCorp reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Walmart from $141.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Mizuho set a $130.00 price target on Walmart in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Gordon Haskett lowered Walmart from a "buy" rating to an "accumulate" rating in a research note on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $131.88.

Walmart Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of WMT stock opened at $103.70 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $825.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.61. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $95.42 and a 1 year high of $135.15. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $113.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $121.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. 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 the consensus estimate of $186.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.68 EPS. The business's revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. 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, sell-side analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.86 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, EVP Latriece Watkins sold 11,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.97, for a total transaction of $1,308,670.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 120,203 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,300,550.91. This trade represents a 8.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.34, for a total value of $308,386.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 569,153 shares in the company, valued at $60,523,730.02. This represents a 0.51% 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 have sold 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.

Key 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.

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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