Walmart Inc. $WMT Shares Sold by Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.

Key Points

• Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. reduced its Walmart holdings by 0.6%, selling 2,610 shares, and now owns 457,746 shares valued at approximately $44.76 million.
• Several hedge funds have significantly increased their positions in Walmart, with Operose Advisors LLC boosting theirs by 319.7% in the first quarter alone.
• Analysts have issued optimistic ratings for Walmart, increasing target prices to as high as $129.00, with an average consensus target of $112.03 and a rating of "Buy."

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. trimmed its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 0.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 457,746 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 2,610 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up 1.3% of Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.'s holdings in Walmart were worth $44,758,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WMT. Operose Advisors LLC grew its position in Walmart by 319.7% during the 1st quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 319 shares of the retailer's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. raised its position in Walmart by 98.2% during the first quarter. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. now owns 337 shares of the retailer's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 432.4% during the first quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 362 shares of the retailer's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the first quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Lipe & Dalton grew its holdings in Walmart by 95.2% in the first quarter. Lipe & Dalton now owns 410 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on WMT shares. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $101.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday. They set an "outperform" rating and a $129.00 price target for the company. Telsey Advisory Group increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised shares of Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $112.03.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT stock opened at $102.40 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $99.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $95.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market cap of $816.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.50, a PEG ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 0.65. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $78.11 and a 12 month high of $106.11.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 21st. The retailer reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.06). Walmart had a return on equity of 21.45% and a net margin of 3.08%.The company had revenue of $169.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $174.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.67 earnings per share. Walmart's quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Walmart has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.580-0.600 EPS. FY 2026 guidance at 2.520-2.620 EPS. Research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.58, for a total transaction of $1,855,781.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,412,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $421,737,000.84. This represents a 0.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.96, for a total value of $403,840.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 1,052,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $106,255,856.80. This represents a 0.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 134,107 shares of company stock worth $13,183,727 in the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Walmart

Walmart Inc engages in the operation of retail, wholesale, other units, and eCommerce worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam's Club. It operates supercenters, supermarkets, hypermarkets, warehouse clubs, cash and carry stores, and discount stores under Walmart and Walmart Neighborhood Market brands; membership-only warehouse clubs; ecommerce websites, such as walmart.com.mx, walmart.ca, flipkart.com, PhonePe and other sites; and mobile commerce applications.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WMT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.