Walmart Inc. $WMT Shares Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. has reduced its stake in Walmart Inc. by 0.5%, now holding approximately 11.5 million shares, which accounts for about 0.7% of its portfolio.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on Walmart, with JPMorgan lowering its target price from $130 to $127, while others, including Bank of America, raised their targets, reflecting a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $113.07.
• Walmart's latest earnings report showed an EPS of $0.68, missing estimates, and revenue of $169.34 billion, indicating a 4.8% increase year-over-year but below expectations of $174.02 billion.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 0.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,497,265 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 53,633 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for approximately 0.7% of Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 0.14% of Walmart worth $1,124,203,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Operose Advisors LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 319.7% in the first quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 319 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. PFS Partners LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 267.8% in the second quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 320 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 55.3% in the second quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 323 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. lifted its position in Walmart by 98.2% in the first quarter. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. now owns 337 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd lifted its position in Walmart by 432.4% in the first quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 362 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WMT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Walmart from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 target price (up from $112.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, August 18th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $120.00 target price for the company. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised shares of Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Thirty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $113.07.

Walmart Stock Down 0.3%

WMT stock opened at $106.50 on Friday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $102.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $98.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $849.13 billion, a PE ratio of 40.05, a P/E/G ratio of 5.05 and a beta of 0.67. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $79.81 and a 12 month high of $109.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.83, for a total value of $415,320.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 1,048,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $108,861,082.65. This trade represents a 0.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.21, for a total transaction of $2,003,925.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,373,576 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $451,396,778.96. The trade was a 0.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 131,622 shares of company stock valued at $13,444,273. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.

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