Walmart Inc. $WMT Shares Purchased by Tema ETFs LLC

Tema ETFs LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 10.7% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 77,771 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 7,540 shares during the period. Tema ETFs LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $8,808,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Merkkuri Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Walmart during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 57.4% during the fourth quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Sankala Group LLC bought a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart completed its acquisition of Vibe.co, a self-service streaming-TV advertising platform, strengthening Walmart Connect’s ability to sell targeted advertisements using its retail and shopping data. The move could support higher-margin, faster-growing advertising revenue over time. Walmart Bets On Streaming Ads
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart is expanding its presence in sports collectibles and trading cards, including at the National Sports Collectors Convention. The initiative could help grow marketplace activity, customer engagement and alternative revenue streams. Walmart Steps Up Collectibles Push
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart’s dividend and defensive, blue-chip profile remain supportive factors ahead of earnings, although the roughly 0.9% yield is relatively modest. Reason to Buy Walmart Before Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Options traders are positioning for Walmart’s earnings, with one short-term strategy presented as capable of producing a 14% return. This highlights expected volatility but does not provide a fundamental valuation signal. Walmart Earnings Options Trade
• Neutral Sentiment: Former CEO Doug McMillon joining a Federal Reserve task force on retail data and artificial intelligence raises Walmart’s policy profile. It may showcase the company’s data capabilities, but increased scrutiny of pricing practices could create longer-term regulatory and reputational risks. Walmart and Federal Reserve Data Talks
• Neutral Sentiment: Walmart and the Walmart Foundation committed $500,000 in grants and in-kind support for Spokane wildfire relief. The contribution may strengthen community goodwill but is unlikely to materially affect earnings.
• Negative Sentiment: Erste Group trimmed its fiscal 2027 EPS estimate to $2.89 from $2.90 and maintained a Hold rating, reinforcing the view that near-term earnings growth may be limited.
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts continue to flag expense deleverage: U.S. sales grew 4.5% in fiscal first quarter, but depreciation and healthcare costs pushed the expense rate 56 basis points higher. Margin pressure is a key risk for the upcoming report. Walmart Expense Deleverage Concerns

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the subject of several research reports. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $145.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Tigress Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 target price (up from $150.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered shares of Walmart from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.56.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $113.26 on Wednesday. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $95.42 and a one year high of $135.15. The company has a 50-day moving average of $114.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $121.59. The stock has a market cap of $901.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.74, a PEG ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.66. Walmart had a net margin of 3.13% and a return on equity of 21.25%. The business had revenue of $177.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $174.84 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.61 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Walmart has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.750-2.850 EPS and its Q2 2027 guidance at 0.720-0.740 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 3,775 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.64, for a total value of $413,891.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 630,009 shares in the company, valued at $69,074,186.76. This represents a 0.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.63, for a total value of $2,303,320.08. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,174,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $495,230,306.77. This trade represents a 0.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 71,439 shares of company stock worth $8,544,532. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Company 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.