D.A. Davidson & CO. Acquires 73,121 Shares of Walmart Inc. $WMT

Key Points

• D.A. Davidson increased its Walmart stake by 16.9% in the third quarter, purchasing 73,121 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 505,371 shares valued at approximately $52.5 million.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of Walmart, while insiders have sold 102,244 shares worth $11.1 million over the past 90 days, primarily through pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with Walmart carrying an average “Buy” rating and a $132.41 price target. The stock recently opened at $118.77, while the company reported quarterly revenue growth of 5.9% and earnings above expectations.

D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT - Free Report) by 16.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 505,371 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 73,121 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.'s holdings in Walmart were worth $52,518,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Compton Financial Group LLC grew its position in 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 period. Strait & Sound Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Strait & Sound Wealth Management LLC now owns 25,443 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,162,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Lodestar Private Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Lodestar Private Asset Management LLC now owns 9,577 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,190,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the period. Bernicke Wealth Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 89 shares during the period. Finally, MBE Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.0% in the third quarter. MBE Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,306 shares of the retailer's stock worth $967,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart lowered the cost of its Thanksgiving meal basket by $5, reinforcing its value proposition as consumers remain sensitive to food prices. Affordable holiday offerings could support traffic and market-share gains. Walmart Thanksgiving menu comparison
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart said AI training has increased technology confidence among its more than 2.1 million associates. Broader employee adoption could improve productivity and customer service over time. Walmart AI training for workers
• Positive Sentiment: The retailer is expanding its digital ecosystem by opening its store to AI shopping agents and adding controls for those transactions. Walmart is also partnering with Care Access to add three clinical-trial centers, supporting longer-term growth in digital commerce and healthcare services. Walmart AI shopping agents
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary continues to compare Walmart with Tesco and MercadoLibre, highlighting Walmart’s scale and expanding digital operations but also its elevated valuation and profitability considerations. WMT versus MercadoLibre
• Neutral Sentiment: Walmart’s potential to benefit from advertising, e-commerce, automation and healthcare remains part of the investment case, although execution and valuation are key factors for investors.
• Negative Sentiment: The Federal Trade Commission demanded data from Walmart and other companies about personalized pricing. The inquiry could increase compliance costs or create reputational and regulatory risks if regulators find consumers are treated unfairly, though no wrongdoing was alleged. FTC personalized pricing inquiry
• Negative Sentiment: Exchange-traded funds were reported as net sellers of Walmart shares, creating a modest technical headwind and signaling some portfolio rebalancing pressure.
• Negative Sentiment: A lawsuit alleges Walmart inflated the weight of shrimp packages with ice. Although the financial impact is unclear, the claim adds potential legal costs and negative publicity. Walmart shrimp lawsuit

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, EVP Latriece Watkins sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.00, for a total value of $575,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 110,432 shares in the company, valued at $12,699,680. The trade was a 4.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 3,990 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.41, for a total value of $416,595.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 618,359 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $64,562,863.19. The trade was a 0.64% 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 a total of 102,244 shares of company stock valued at $11,112,044 in the last ninety days. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on WMT. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, August 21st. KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, September 10th. BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating and issued a $140.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $140.00 to $120.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-three have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $132.41.

Walmart Trading Down 0.5%

WMT stock opened at $118.77 on Thursday. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $109.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $118.34. 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 52-week low of $98.88 and a 52-week high of $135.15. The firm has a market cap of $942.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.88, a PEG ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.58.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The retailer reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.07. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.83% and a net margin of 3.00%. The firm had revenue of $187.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $186.64 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.68 EPS. The company's quarterly 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, equities analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.88 EPS for the current fiscal 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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