Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab Acquires Shares of 460,427 Walmart Inc. $WMT

Key Points

• Danica Pension acquired 460,427 Walmart shares worth approximately $52.1 million in the second quarter, making Walmart its 29th-largest holding. Institutional investors collectively own 26.76% of Walmart.
• Walmart exceeded quarterly expectations with adjusted EPS of $0.81 and revenue of $187.94 billion, while e-commerce, advertising and membership revenue posted strong growth.
• Despite the earnings beat, U.S. comparable sales growth slowed to 2.6% and third-quarter guidance came in below consensus, contributing to analyst price-target reductions and concerns about Walmart’s elevated valuation.

Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab acquired a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 460,427 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $52,148,000. Walmart makes up 0.8% of Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab's investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WMT. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the second quarter worth $475,440,000. Diversify Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Walmart in the second quarter valued at $10,987,000. Gables Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart in the second quarter valued at $3,961,000. Bonfire Financial acquired a new stake in Walmart in the second quarter valued at $378,000. Finally, Oxbow Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 19,539 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,213,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT stock opened at $103.70 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $825.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.44, a PEG ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.61. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $95.42 and a twelve month high of $135.15. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $113.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $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 announced 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. The business 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 quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $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. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.86 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on WMT shares. Freedom Capital raised Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Tigress Financial reissued 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. Guggenheim set a $130.00 target price on Walmart and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Roth Capital restated a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised Walmart to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Two investment 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $131.88.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 3,775 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.64, for a total value of $413,891.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 630,009 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $69,074,186.76. This represents a 0.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.63, for a total transaction of $2,303,320.08. Following the sale, the director owned 4,174,579 shares of the company's stock, valued at $495,230,306.77. This trade represents a 0.46% 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 sold a total of 57,064 shares of company stock worth $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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