German American Bancorp Inc. Buys 63,606 Shares of Walmart Inc. $WMT

German American Bancorp Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 1,012.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 69,890 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 63,606 shares during the period. German American Bancorp Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $7,203,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CWM LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 24.2% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,175,703 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $121,168,000 after purchasing an additional 229,220 shares during the period. Neuberger Berman Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.8% during the second quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 5,091,126 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $497,771,000 after buying an additional 42,645 shares in the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 16.6% in the third quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 63,782 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,567,000 after acquiring an additional 9,061 shares during the period. Aviva PLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 16.4% in the second quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 3,833,720 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $374,861,000 after acquiring an additional 539,504 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors increased its position in Walmart by 5.2% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 293,866 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $30,286,000 after acquiring an additional 14,487 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Mizuho set a $125.00 price objective on shares of Walmart and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $128.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 price target (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and set a $129.00 price objective (up from $122.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Thirty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.06.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.65, for a total value of $746,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,535,221.85. The trade was a 4.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Donna Morris sold 76,181 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.79, for a total value of $9,430,445.99. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 402,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,772,492.88. This trade represents a 15.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 229,196 shares of company stock valued at $26,957,858. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart joined the trillion‑dollar market‑cap club, boosting investor confidence that its investments in e‑commerce, tech and higher‑margin services are being rewarded. Walmart Trillion-Dollar Club (Fool)
• Positive Sentiment: Evidence of accelerating Walmart+ paid‑membership adoption supports a path to more recurring, higher‑margin revenue — a key part of the bull thesis. Walmart paid membership growth (Seeking Alpha)
• Positive Sentiment: Large institutional buying (e.g., Alecta boosting its stake) is a vote of confidence from some money managers and can support the stock at higher levels. Alecta boosts stake in Walmart (TipRanks)
• Positive Sentiment: Retail commentator Tim Bohen flagged Walmart among his “Big 3” long‑term AI/retail ideas, reinforcing positive retail investor narratives. The Big 3: BE, WMT, XPO (YouTube)
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage is tilted positive but consensus targets are near current prices; recent quarterly results beat estimates and FY‑26 EPS guidance is modest — upside now depends on continued execution. Zacks: Earnings ESP for retailers
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling (EVP Donna Morris and others disclosed multi‑million dollar stock sales this week) can create short‑term selling pressure or be read as executives monetizing gains. Walmart insider selling (InsiderTrades)
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive risk from Amazon’s physical grocery/fulfillment push and Walmart’s elevated multiples mean any slowdown in sales or margin mix could trigger a pullback. Amazon grocery competition (Reuters)

Walmart Stock Up 3.3%

NASDAQ:WMT opened at $131.18 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.24. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $79.81 and a one year high of $131.70. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $116.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $107.15. The company has a market cap of $1.05 trillion, a PE ratio of 45.87, a P/E/G ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.65.

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

About Walmart

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.