National Pension Service Buys 345,123 Shares of Walmart Inc. $WMT

National Pension Service grew its stake in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 3.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,314,166 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 345,123 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up about 0.8% of National Pension Service’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest position. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.13% of Walmart worth $1,168,182,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart in the second quarter worth $6,451,000. Advisortrust Partners LLC lifted its position 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 buying an additional 11,283 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA lifted its position 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 valued at $47,728,000 after buying an additional 275,337 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 2.9% during the 1st 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 period. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 42.1% during the 4th 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 period. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Daniel Bartlett sold 3,950 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.14, for a total value of $415,303.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 622,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,433,773.86. This trade represents a 0.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Christopher Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.34, for a total transaction of $308,386.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 569,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $60,523,730.02. The trade was a 0.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 69,264 shares of company stock worth $7,401,242. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings lowered Walmart from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. DA Davidson set a $132.00 price objective on shares of Walmart and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $113.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Evercore set a $125.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.88.

Walmart Stock Down 0.2%

WMT opened at $105.83 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $839.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.59. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $98.88 and a one year high of $135.15. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $110.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $119.08. 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 quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 20th. The retailer reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.07. The company 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company 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 research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Company Profile

Walmart Inc is a multinational retail and technology company that operates supercenters, discount stores, neighborhood markets, e-commerce platforms and membership warehouse clubs. Its merchandise includes groceries, apparel, electronics, home goods, health and beauty products, general merchandise and other consumer products.

Founded by Sam Walton in 1962 and incorporated in 1969, Walmart is headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas. The company serves customers through operations in the United States and international markets, including Mexico, Canada, China, India and several countries in Central America and Africa.