Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Buys 803,237 Shares of Walmart Inc. $WMT

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 7.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,328,435 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 803,237 shares during the quarter. Walmart accounts for about 0.7% of Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,283,059,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Advisortrust Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 20.2% during the first quarter. Advisortrust Partners LLC now owns 67,142 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,344,000 after purchasing an additional 11,283 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA boosted its position in Walmart by 253.3% during the 1st quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA now owns 384,034 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $47,728,000 after buying an additional 275,337 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 2,416,580 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $300,333,000 after buying an additional 68,632 shares during the period. Vise Technologies Inc. grew its holdings in Walmart by 42.1% during the 4th quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 275,341 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $30,676,000 after acquiring an additional 81,635 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HORAN Wealth LLC increased its position in Walmart by 55.7% in the 1st quarter. HORAN Wealth LLC now owns 81,544 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $9,931,000 after acquiring an additional 29,184 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart reported adjusted earnings of $0.81 per share and revenue of $187.94 billion, beating consensus estimates of $0.74 and $186.62 billion, respectively. Revenue increased 5.9% year over year. Walmart earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Growth businesses remain strong: global e-commerce sales rose 23%, advertising revenue increased 38%, and global membership revenue grew 17%. These trends support the long-term investment case despite slower core-store growth. Walmart second-quarter highlights
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart plans to use approximately $2.9 billion in tariff refunds to help lower prices, potentially strengthening its value proposition as consumers become more budget-conscious. The rollout of tap-to-pay, including Apple Pay and Google Pay, may also improve checkout convenience. Walmart tap to pay rollout
• Neutral Sentiment: Several analysts retained bullish ratings—including buy, outperform, and overweight—but lowered price targets after the earnings release. New targets range from $120 to $140, indicating analysts still see meaningful upside but have moderated their expectations.
• Negative Sentiment: U.S. comparable sales grew 2.6%, below expectations near 3.5%, marking Walmart’s weakest domestic comparable-sales growth in more than six years. Analysts cited weakness in health and wellness and questioned the trajectory of the core U.S. business.
• Negative Sentiment: Third-quarter guidance fell short of consensus: Walmart projected adjusted EPS of $0.62–$0.64 versus $0.68 expected and revenue of $183.1–$184.5 billion versus $188.2 billion expected. The timing of Flipkart’s promotional event is also expected to reduce quarterly sales growth by more than 100 basis points.
• Negative Sentiment: The stock’s elevated valuation increases sensitivity to any slowdown, while higher energy costs and consumer trade-offs are raising broader concerns about the health of U.S. retail spending.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, EVP Latriece Watkins sold 11,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.97, for a total value of $1,308,670.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 120,203 shares in the company, valued at $14,300,550.91. The trade was a 8.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.34, for a total transaction of $308,386.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 569,153 shares in the company, valued at $60,523,730.02. The trade was a 0.51% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 57,064 shares of company stock worth $6,697,788. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:WMT opened at $103.70 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $95.42 and a 1 year high of $135.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The business’s 50-day moving average is $113.35 and its 200-day moving average is $121.26. The company has a market capitalization of $825.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.61.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last released its 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 business had revenue of $187.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $186.64 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.83% and a net margin of 3.00%.The firm’s revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.68 earnings per share. 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 research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on WMT shares. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Walmart from $141.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $125.00 target price (down from $140.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday. Roth Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday. Weiss Ratings cut Walmart from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Walmart to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have given a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.88.

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.