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

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group reduced its Walmart position by 2.6%, selling 271,862 shares in the third quarter. It still held 10.2 million shares worth approximately $1.06 billion, while institutional investors and hedge funds collectively owned 26.76% of Walmart.
• Other funds were generally more positive on Walmart, including ProShare Advisors, which increased its stake by 6.7%, and Mirae Asset Global Investments, which initiated a position worth about $356 million. Walmart insiders have also sold shares, including $11.1 million worth over the past 90 days.
• Analysts maintain a bullish outlook, with a consensus “Buy” rating and a $132.41 target price. Walmart recently exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, though its elevated valuation, moderating comparable-sales growth and regulatory concerns could limit upside.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lowered its position in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT - Free Report) by 2.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,205,177 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 271,862 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for 0.6% of Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 0.13% of Walmart worth $1,060,522,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Walmart during the third quarter worth approximately $356,230,000. Stevens Capital Partners grew its holdings in Walmart by 27.9% during the third quarter. Stevens Capital Partners now owns 6,529 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $679,000 after purchasing an additional 1,425 shares during the last quarter. Ipsen Advisor Group LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 0.5% in the third quarter. Ipsen Advisor Group LLC now owns 19,163 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,991,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 6.7% in the third quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 6,988,449 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $726,240,000 after purchasing an additional 438,228 shares during the period. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. raised its position in shares of Walmart by 8.6% in the third quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 472,677 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $49,121,000 after purchasing an additional 37,507 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, EVP Latriece Watkins sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.00, for a total transaction of $575,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 110,432 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,699,680. This represents a 4.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Daniel Bartlett sold 3,990 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.41, for a total transaction of $416,595.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 618,359 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $64,562,863.19. The trade was a 0.64% decrease in their position. 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 90 days, insiders have sold 102,244 shares of company stock worth $11,112,044. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on WMT shares. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $147.00 to $132.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 21st. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $128.00 target price (down from $137.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, August 21st. Truist Financial set a $114.00 target price on shares of Walmart and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Tigress Financial restated a "buy" rating and set a $155.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, August 31st. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $130.00 price target (down from $140.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $132.41.

Key Walmart News

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Energy investment expands Walmart’s customer offerings: Walmart is making a strategic investment in Base Power and will offer the company’s home battery systems to Walmart customers and Sam’s Club members beginning in November. The systems are designed to reduce energy costs and provide backup power, creating a potential new customer benefit while expanding Walmart’s ecosystem beyond traditional retail. Walmart and Base Power announce strategic agreement
• Positive Sentiment: Major automation agreement with Symbotic: Walmart expanded its commercial relationship with warehouse-automation provider Symbotic in a deal valued at approximately $6 billion. Greater automation could improve fulfillment capacity, labor efficiency and inventory management, although the investment also carries execution and capital-spending risks. Symbotic stock jumps on Walmart automation deal
• Positive Sentiment: Strong fundamentals continue to support the stock: Walmart’s latest quarterly results exceeded consensus estimates for both earnings and revenue, with revenue rising year over year. Analysts and market commentary continue to highlight earnings growth and price strength as reasons to remain constructive on WMT. Earnings growth and price strength make Walmart a stock to watch
• Neutral Sentiment: Healthcare expansion offers a longer-term growth avenue: Walmart has broadened its Better Care Services platform into a healthcare marketplace connecting customers with third-party providers. The initiative could increase customer engagement, but its financial contribution is not yet clear. Walmart launched a healthcare services marketplace
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive and regulatory concerns remain: DoorDash’s proposed $17 billion acquisition of Instacart is intended partly to strengthen competition with Walmart and Amazon in local commerce and grocery delivery. Separately, the FTC is seeking information from Walmart about the use of personal data in personalized pricing, creating potential compliance and reputational risks. FTC orders Walmart and others to share pricing data information
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation comparisons could limit upside: Walmart trades at a substantially higher earnings multiple than Target, while commentary suggests Walmart’s comparable-sales growth may be moderating. That premium leaves the stock more exposed if growth expectations weaken. Target trades at a fraction of Walmart’s valuation

Walmart Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $123.51 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $98.88 and a 1 year high of $135.15. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $110.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $118.40. The company has a market cap of $979.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.59, a PEG ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The retailer reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.07. Walmart had a net margin of 3.00% and a return on equity of 21.83%. The firm had revenue of $187.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $186.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.68 EPS. The business's quarterly 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. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.87 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Profile

Walmart Inc NASDAQ: WMT operates a global retail business through a network of supercenters, supermarkets, discount stores, neighborhood markets, warehouse clubs and e-commerce platforms. Its stores and websites sell a broad assortment of merchandise, including groceries, consumables, health and wellness products, apparel, electronics, home goods, toys and other general merchandise.

The company organizes its operations into Walmart U.S., Walmart International and Sam's Club U.S. Walmart U.S.

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