Walmart Inc. $WMT Stock Bought by ProShare Advisors LLC

ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 6.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,988,449 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 438,228 shares during the period. Walmart comprises approximately 1.1% of ProShare Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. ProShare Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Walmart worth $726,240,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vise Technologies Inc. increased its position in Walmart by 8.6% in the third quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 472,677 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $49,121,000 after buying an additional 37,507 shares during the last quarter. Investment Partners LTD. increased its holdings in Walmart by 38.4% during the 3rd quarter. Investment Partners LTD. now owns 23,419 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,434,000 after acquiring an additional 6,495 shares during the period. Cidel Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 37,255 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,872,000 after acquiring an additional 1,345 shares in the last quarter. Summit Global Investments grew its stake in Walmart by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 8,091 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $841,000 after buying an additional 630 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Opinicus Capital Inc. grew its position in Walmart by 5.2% in the third quarter. Opinicus Capital Inc. now owns 2,971 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $309,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel Danker sold 50,644 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.35, for a total transaction of $5,335,345.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 201,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,246,145.20. The trade was a 20.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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. Also, EVP Christopher Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.60, for a total transaction of $349,740.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 563,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $67,940,371.80. This represents 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. Insiders have sold a total of 102,244 shares of company stock worth $11,112,044 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of WMT opened at $123.51 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $98.88 and a 12 month high of $135.15. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $110.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $118.40. The stock has a market cap of $979.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.59, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The retailer reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $187.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $186.64 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 3.00% and a return on equity of 21.83%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.68 EPS. 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 predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart News Summary

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Walmart to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Walmart from $140.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Walmart from $137.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $132.41.

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.