Walmart Inc. $WMT Shares Acquired by MORGUARD LINCLUDEN GLOBAL INVESTMENTS Ltd

MORGUARD LINCLUDEN GLOBAL INVESTMENTS Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 15.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 49,944 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,775 shares during the period. MORGUARD LINCLUDEN GLOBAL INVESTMENTS Ltd’s holdings in Walmart were worth $5,190,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its position in shares of Walmart by 16.9% in the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 505,371 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $52,518,000 after purchasing an additional 73,121 shares during the last quarter. DecisionPoint Financial LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 197.1% in the 3rd quarter. DecisionPoint Financial LLC now owns 710 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. boosted its stake in Walmart by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 36,277 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,770,000 after purchasing an additional 451 shares in the last quarter. North Dakota State Investment Board grew its position in Walmart by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. North Dakota State Investment Board now owns 134,442 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $13,971,000 after purchasing an additional 5,071 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Heritage Wealth Management Inc. CA grew its position in Walmart by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. CA now owns 13,079 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,359,000 after purchasing an additional 806 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart lowered the cost of its Thanksgiving meal basket by $5, reinforcing its value proposition as consumers remain sensitive to food prices. Affordable holiday offerings could support traffic and market-share gains. Walmart Thanksgiving menu comparison
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart said AI training has increased technology confidence among its more than 2.1 million associates. Broader employee adoption could improve productivity and customer service over time. Walmart AI training for workers
• Positive Sentiment: The retailer is expanding its digital ecosystem by opening its store to AI shopping agents and adding controls for those transactions. Walmart is also partnering with Care Access to add three clinical-trial centers, supporting longer-term growth in digital commerce and healthcare services. Walmart AI shopping agents
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary continues to compare Walmart with Tesco and MercadoLibre, highlighting Walmart’s scale and expanding digital operations but also its elevated valuation and profitability considerations. WMT versus MercadoLibre
• Neutral Sentiment: Walmart’s potential to benefit from advertising, e-commerce, automation and healthcare remains part of the investment case, although execution and valuation are key factors for investors.
• Negative Sentiment: The Federal Trade Commission demanded data from Walmart and other companies about personalized pricing. The inquiry could increase compliance costs or create reputational and regulatory risks if regulators find consumers are treated unfairly, though no wrongdoing was alleged. FTC personalized pricing inquiry
• Negative Sentiment: Exchange-traded funds were reported as net sellers of Walmart shares, creating a modest technical headwind and signaling some portfolio rebalancing pressure.
• Negative Sentiment: A lawsuit alleges Walmart inflated the weight of shrimp packages with ice. Although the financial impact is unclear, the claim adds potential legal costs and negative publicity. Walmart shrimp lawsuit

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Walmart from $140.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $113.00 to $136.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Freedom Broker raised shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Walmart from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-three have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $132.41.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, CEO John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’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 $1,582,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 634,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $76,555,674. This trade represents a 2.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Christopher Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of the business’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 transaction, 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 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 102,244 shares of company stock worth $11,112,044. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Down 0.5%

Walmart stock opened at $118.77 on Thursday. 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 Inc. has a 52 week low of $98.88 and a 52 week high of $135.15. The company has a market capitalization of $942.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $109.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $118.34.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The retailer reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.07. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.83% and a net margin of 3.00%. The firm had revenue of $187.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $186.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.68 earnings per share. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Walmart has set its Q3 2027 guidance at 0.620-0.640 EPS and its FY 2027 guidance at 2.800-2.870 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.88 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Company 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.