The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Makes New $468.09 Million Investment in Walmart Inc. $WMT

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 4,132,839 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $468,086,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart in the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,451,000. Advisortrust Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 20.2% during the 1st quarter. Advisortrust Partners LLC now owns 67,142 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,344,000 after acquiring an additional 11,283 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 253.3% during the 1st quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA now owns 384,034 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $47,728,000 after acquiring an additional 275,337 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 2.9% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 2,416,580 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $300,333,000 after acquiring an additional 68,632 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 42.1% in the fourth quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 275,341 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $30,676,000 after acquiring an additional 81,635 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of WMT opened at $103.09 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $111.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $120.45. The stock has a market cap of $820.40 billion, a PE ratio of 37.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 0.61. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $95.79 and a 12 month high of $135.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The retailer reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $187.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $186.64 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.83% and a net margin of 3.00%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.68 earnings per share. 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 forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Key Walmart News

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart’s fiscal second-quarter results showed continued momentum beyond traditional store sales: revenue reached approximately $187.9 billion, global e-commerce grew 23%, and advertising revenue increased 38%. These higher-growth businesses could support future margins and cash flow. Walmart Growth Engine Hums
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and commentary continue to point to Walmart’s expanding e-commerce, digital advertising, memberships, convenience-led fulfillment, automation and AI initiatives as reasons the recent decline could represent a long-term buying opportunity. Walmart’s scale and value-focused pricing remain important competitive advantages. Walmart Continues to Grow Beyond Retail
• Neutral Sentiment: Walmart settled a U.S. Justice Department lawsuit alleging that its pharmacies unlawfully contributed to the opioid epidemic. Resolving the case removes an overhang and reduces legal uncertainty, although the financial terms and any broader implications remain important for investors. Walmart Settles U.S. Opioid Lawsuit
• Negative Sentiment: Recent coverage highlights a potentially tougher consumer environment. Walmart’s comparable sales growth was 3.4% excluding pharmacy-related items, while middle-income shoppers appear increasingly focused on necessities and limiting discretionary purchases. Walmart and Home Depot Results
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are also questioning whether Walmart’s valuation adequately reflects its strong performance. A high earnings multiple, slower core sales growth and the stock’s position below its moving averages have amplified the impact of the recent selloff. Walmart Selloff Analysis
• Negative Sentiment: Executive Vice President Daniel Danker sold 50,644 shares worth approximately $5.3 million. The sale was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan to cover taxes on vested equity awards, making it a weaker bearish signal than discretionary insider selling. Walmart Insider Trading Filing

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on WMT shares. Truist Financial set a $114.00 price target on shares of Walmart and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, August 21st. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 price objective (down from $140.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Guggenheim set a $130.00 price objective on Walmart and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Walmart from $140.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.34, for a total value of $308,386.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 569,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $60,523,730.02. This trade represents a 0.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Daniel Danker sold 50,644 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.35, for a total transaction of $5,335,345.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 201,672 shares in the company, valued at $21,246,145.20. This represents a 20.07% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 77,292 shares of company stock worth $8,421,143 in the last 90 days. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.