Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Acquires 282,774 Shares of Walmart Inc. $WMT

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board increased its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT - Free Report) by 1,684.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 299,561 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 282,774 shares during the quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board's holdings in Walmart were worth $33,928,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Walmart by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 439,957,146 shares of the retailer's stock worth $49,015,626,000 after purchasing an additional 4,304,436 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Walmart by 1.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 184,805,978 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $19,046,104,000 after buying an additional 2,242,364 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 103,010,709 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $11,426,753,000 after buying an additional 6,517,394 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $6,458,529,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Walmart by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 40,626,852 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,526,238,000 after buying an additional 328,229 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, EVP David W. Guggina sold 11,978 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.82, for a total value of $1,435,203.96. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 125,067 shares in the company, valued at $14,985,527.94. This represents a 8.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at 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 on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.63, for a total value of $2,303,320.08. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,174,579 shares of the company's stock, valued at $495,230,306.77. This represents a 0.46% 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. Insiders have sold 57,064 shares of company stock worth $6,697,788 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WMT. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target 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. Evercore set a $125.00 price objective on Walmart in a report on Friday. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Walmart from $147.00 to $132.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on Walmart from $137.00 to $131.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $131.88.

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 Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of WMT opened at $103.70 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $825.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.61. 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 12 month low of $95.42 and a 12 month high of $135.15. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $113.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $121.26.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 21.83% and a net margin of 3.00%.The company had revenue of $187.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $186.64 billion. During the same period in the prior 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. Equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Walmart

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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