Johnson Financial Group Inc. Purchases New Stake in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 41,196 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $4,666,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Merkkuri Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. Sankala Group LLC acquired a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Turim 21 Investimentos Ltda. acquired a new position in Walmart in the 1st quarter valued at about $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WMT. BNP Paribas Exane restated an “outperform” rating and set a $137.00 price target (down from $146.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective (down from $140.00) 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 report on Friday, July 31st. Guggenheim set a $130.00 price objective on Walmart and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on Walmart from $141.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.88.

Walmart Price Performance

Walmart stock opened at $103.70 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $825.25 billion, a PE ratio of 37.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.77. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $95.42 and a fifty-two week high of $135.15. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $113.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $121.24.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The retailer reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $187.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $186.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.68 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Walmart has set its Q3 2027 guidance at 0.620-0.640 EPS and its FY 2027 guidance at 2.800-2.870 EPS. Research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Latriece Watkins sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.97, for a total transaction of $1,308,670.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 120,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,300,550.91. This represents a 8.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.63, for a total transaction of $2,303,320.08. Following the sale, the director owned 4,174,579 shares in the company, valued at $495,230,306.77. This trade represents a 0.46% 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. Insiders have sold 57,064 shares of company stock worth $6,697,788 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Walmart

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.

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.