Diversify Advisory Services LLC Buys Shares of 98,331 Walmart Inc. $WMT

Key Points

• Diversify Advisory Services LLC acquired 98,331 Walmart shares during the second quarter, valued at approximately $10.99 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 26.76% of Walmart.
• Walmart’s latest quarter exceeded expectations, with adjusted EPS of $0.81 and revenue of $187.94 billion, up 5.9% year over year. E-commerce, advertising, and membership revenue grew 23%, 38%, and 17%, respectively.
• Despite strong results, U.S. comparable sales rose just 2.6% and third-quarter guidance came in below consensus, pressuring the stock and prompting several analysts to lower price targets. Walmart retains a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average target of $131.88.

Diversify Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 98,331 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $10,987,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MFA Wealth Services raised its stake in Walmart by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. MFA Wealth Services now owns 10,909 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,356,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Realta Investment Advisors boosted its stake in Walmart by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Realta Investment Advisors now owns 4,089 shares of the retailer's stock worth $508,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Compton Financial Group LLC boosted its stake 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 last quarter. Renaissance Group LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Group LLC now owns 9,636 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,074,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Calton & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Calton & Associates Inc. now owns 27,220 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,033,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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 Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of WMT opened at $103.70 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $95.42 and a 52-week high of $135.15. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $113.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $121.26. The company has a market capitalization 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.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The retailer reported $0.81 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $186.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.68 EPS. The company's revenue 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. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.86 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Evercore set a $125.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday. Truist Financial set a $114.00 price target on shares of Walmart and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday. DA Davidson set a $132.00 price objective on shares of Walmart and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Walmart from $140.00 to $120.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $131.88.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, EVP David W. Guggina sold 11,978 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.82, for a total value of $1,435,203.96. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 125,067 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,985,527.94. This represents a 8.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 3,775 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.64, for a total transaction of $413,891.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 630,009 shares of the company's stock, valued at $69,074,186.76. This represents a 0.60% 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 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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