Walmart Inc. $WMT Shares Purchased by Machina Capital S.A.S.

Machina Capital S.A.S. boosted its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 177.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,783 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,653 shares during the quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $2,039,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WMT. CWM LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 24.2% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,175,703 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $121,168,000 after buying an additional 229,220 shares in the last quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 5,091,126 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $497,771,000 after acquiring an additional 42,645 shares during the period. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. increased its stake in Walmart by 16.6% in the 3rd quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 63,782 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,567,000 after purchasing an additional 9,061 shares in the last quarter. Aviva PLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 16.4% during the second quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 3,833,720 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $374,861,000 after purchasing an additional 539,504 shares during the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors boosted 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 purchasing an additional 14,487 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart crossed the $1 trillion market?cap mark, lifting sentiment that its investments in e?commerce, AI and higher?margin services are re?rating the stock. Walmart cracks into the $1 trillion club
• Positive Sentiment: Leadership continuity with an internal CEO transition (John Furner) reduces execution risk as management continues the digital/fulfillment strategy. Walmart Names New CEO
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart+ membership appears to be accelerating, supporting recurring revenue and a path to higher margin services that help justify the premium multiple. Walmart paid membership growth
• Positive Sentiment: Brick?and?mortar expansion and vendor rollouts (new Supercenter in Jacksonville; national placement for consumer brands) support same?store footprint and wholesale revenue. Walmart Opens Next Generation Supercenter in Jacksonville
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage is broadly positive (many Buy/Moderate Buy ratings) but consensus price targets are near current levels — suggesting upside now depends on continued execution rather than multiple expansion alone. WMT Joins the $1 Trillion Club
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: EVP Donna Morris and EVP John Rainey both disclosed multi?thousand share sales this week, which can create short?term selling pressure or be read as executives monetizing gains. Donna Morris insider sale John Rainey insider sale
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive and valuation risks: Amazon’s ramp in fast grocery/delivery raises fulfillment costs and margin pressure; at the same time Walmart now trades at elevated multiples, so any slowdown in sales/margin mix could prompt a pullback. Amazon physical grocery push Staples look frothy (Barron’s)

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.75, for a total transaction of $1,374,843.75. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 879,815 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $92,160,621.25. This trade represents a 1.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Donna Morris sold 76,181 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.79, for a total transaction of $9,430,445.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 402,072 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,772,492.88. This trade represents a 15.93% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 229,196 shares of company stock worth $26,957,858. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ WMT opened at $128.00 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $1.02 trillion, a P/E ratio of 44.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.85 and a beta of 0.65. 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 1 year low of $79.81 and a 1 year high of $129.41. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $115.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $106.69.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last issued its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $179.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $175.15 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.31% and a net margin of 3.26%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.58 EPS. Walmart has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.580-2.630 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $132.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research note on Tuesday. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and set a $129.00 target price (up previously from $122.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $110.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $126.00 price objective (up from $123.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Thirty-two equities research 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 currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $124.19.

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.