Kesler Norman & Wride LLC Has $2.53 Million Stake in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Kesler Norman & Wride LLC reduced its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 64.4% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 24,568 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 44,488 shares during the quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $2,532,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 397,264.9% in the second quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 104,514,912 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $10,496,702,000 after acquiring an additional 104,488,610 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Walmart during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,367,770,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 9,648.7% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,486,374 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,123,138,000 after purchasing an additional 11,368,549 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 431,817,510 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $42,223,116,000 after purchasing an additional 5,856,468 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its position in shares of Walmart by 23.5% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 19,493,644 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,902,775,000 after buying an additional 3,710,506 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Evercore ISI set a $120.00 price target on shares of Walmart and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $125.00 target price (up previously from $115.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Bank of America lifted their target price on Walmart from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Thirty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.37.

Walmart Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:WMT opened at $114.53 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.80. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $79.81 and a 52-week high of $117.45. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $109.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $103.77. The firm has a market cap of $912.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.05, a PEG ratio of 5.29 and a beta of 0.66.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The retailer reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.31% and a net margin of 3.26%.The company had revenue of $179.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $175.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.58 earnings per share. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Walmart has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.580-2.630 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.65, for a total value of $746,550.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,289 shares in the company, valued at $14,535,221.85. This represents a 4.89% decrease in their position. The transaction 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 Walmart stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.57, for a total value of $2,127,411.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 4,334,747 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $474,958,228.79. This trade represents a 0.45% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 125,628 shares of company stock valued at $13,690,065 over the last ninety days. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

More Walmart News

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Barclays reiterated its Buy rating on WMT, reinforcing institutional confidence in Walmart’s outlook and supporting demand for the stock. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Mizuho raised its price target to $125 (from $115) and kept an Outperform/Overweight view, signaling upward analyst momentum that can boost buying interest. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo also lifted its target to $130 and remains constructive on Walmart, adding to the analyst support narrative behind the rally. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart launched “Better Care Services,” a digital healthcare platform and lowered prices on some health items — a strategic push that could expand margins and services revenue over time. Analysts are re-assessing valuation with this new health push in mind. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart added Shishir Mehrotra (ex-Grammarly/Superhuman) to its board — a governance move emphasizing AI and e‑commerce expertise that investors view as strengthening Walmart’s tech roadmap. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Walmart launched a celebrity fashion line (Millie Bobby Brown) aimed at teens and young women — a branding/merchandising boost but likely modest near-term financial impact. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Market coverage notes (Zacks, Kalkine, AmericanBankingNews) show elevated investor attention and a consensus “moderate buy,” which keeps the stock in focus but doesn’t single-handedly move fundamentals. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Amazon received approval to build a 225,000 sq ft Walmart-style supercenter near Chicago that would blend in-store shopping with fulfillment — a clear competitive threat to Walmart’s grocery and omnichannel footprint in key markets. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Deutsche Bank downgraded Walmart from Buy to Hold with a $119 target, signaling some analyst caution (limits upside relative to recent price moves) and adding selling pressure for more risk‑sensitive investors. Read More.

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.