Walmart Inc. $WMT Position Boosted by Nvest Financial LLC

Key Points

• Nvest Financial LLC increased its Walmart stake by 46.2% in the fourth quarter, buying 18,391 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 58,169 shares worth about $6.48 million.
• Walmart reported quarterly earnings of $0.66 per share, matching analyst expectations, while revenue of $177.75 billion topped estimates and rose 7.4% year over year.
• Wall Street remains broadly constructive on the stock: recent analyst notes include higher price targets from BTIG and Tigress Financial, and MarketBeat shows an average rating of Moderate Buy with a target price of $138.85.

Nvest Financial LLC grew its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT - Free Report) by 46.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 58,169 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 18,391 shares during the period. Walmart comprises 2.7% of Nvest Financial LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Nvest Financial LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $6,481,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 28.8% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 98,150 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,868,000 after purchasing an additional 21,939 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,849 shares of the retailer's stock worth $800,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Peterson Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Peterson Wealth Management now owns 50,307 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,416,000 after buying an additional 1,715 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 13,008 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,272,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schnieders Capital Management LLC. grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 91,341 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,931,000 after buying an additional 1,048 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, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.63, for a total value of $2,303,320.08. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,174,579 shares in the company, valued at $495,230,306.77. This trade represents a 0.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.92, for a total transaction of $359,368.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 577,853 shares in the company, valued at approximately $71,607,543.76. The trade was a 0.50% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 117,008 shares of company stock valued at $14,492,704 in the last 90 days. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Price Performance

NASDAQ WMT opened at $116.89 on Thursday. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $93.43 and a 1 year high of $135.15. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $125.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $120.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a market cap of $930.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.01, a P/E/G ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 0.59.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.66. Walmart had a net margin of 3.13% and a return on equity of 21.25%. The firm had revenue of $177.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $174.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.61 EPS. The business's revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Walmart has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.750-2.850 EPS and its Q2 2027 guidance at 0.720-0.740 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WMT. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, April 20th. KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $120.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $138.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $137.00 price objective (down from $140.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $138.85.

Key Stories Impacting Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BTIG Research reaffirmed its Buy rating on Walmart and raised its price target to $145, implying meaningful upside and reinforcing the view that the company’s scale and execution remain strong. BTIG Research reaffirms Buy on Walmart
• Positive Sentiment: Tigress Financial also lifted its price target on Walmart to $155, citing the retailer’s AI-driven platform shift and digital expansion, which suggests analysts still see Walmart as a long-term growth story. Tigress Financial raises Walmart price target
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles compared Walmart with Target and highlighted Walmart’s defensive profile, strong scale, and upper-income customer gains. These pieces are more supportive of the investment case than directly market-moving. Walmart vs. Target long-term hold
• Neutral Sentiment: Walmart-backed OnePay is expanding beyond the retailer’s ecosystem, which could broaden the fintech business over time, but the impact on WMT shares is indirect for now. OnePay expansion
• Negative Sentiment: A class action lawsuit over Walmart’s Massachusetts hiring practices adds legal and compliance risk, with allegations that the company improperly requires criminal history disclosure and honesty tests. Walmart hiring practices lawsuit
• Negative Sentiment: Another lawsuit tied to allegedly contaminated SpaghettiOs sold at Walmart raises product-liability concerns, which could weigh on investor sentiment even if the case is isolated. SpaghettiOs lawsuit
• Negative Sentiment: Amazon overtaking Walmart for the top spot in the Fortune 500 is a symbolic setback, underscoring Amazon’s faster revenue growth and intensifying competition in retail. Amazon overtakes Walmart in Fortune 500

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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