Kentucky Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co Takes $5.35 Million Position in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Kentucky Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co purchased a new position in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 47,213 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $5,347,000. Walmart comprises approximately 1.5% of Kentucky Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co's holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WMT. Merkkuri Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Walmart during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Entrust Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 57.4% during the fourth quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Sankala Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Turim 21 Investimentos Ltda. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the first quarter worth approximately $37,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Latriece Watkins sold 11,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 120,203 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,300,550.91. This represents a 8.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of the company'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 directly 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. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 57,064 shares of company stock valued at $6,697,788. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Key Stories 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 Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WMT opened at $103.70 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $113.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $121.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market cap of $825.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.61. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $95.42 and a one year high of $135.15.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.83% and a net margin of 3.00%.The business had revenue of $187.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $186.64 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.68 EPS. The business'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. Equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on WMT shares. Weiss Ratings cut Walmart from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Walmart from $140.00 to $120.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Gordon Haskett downgraded Walmart from a "buy" rating to an "accumulate" 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 note on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday. Two investment 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 issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $131.88.

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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