Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Buys 3,427,925 Shares of Walmart Inc. $WMT

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 3,427,925 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $356,230,000. Walmart comprises about 0.6% of Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart during the second quarter valued at $6,451,000. Advisortrust Partners LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 20.2% during the 1st quarter. Advisortrust Partners LLC now owns 67,142 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,344,000 after acquiring an additional 11,283 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the 2nd quarter valued at $7,455,131,000. HORAN Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 55.7% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Park National Corp OH boosted its stake in Walmart by 282.9% in the 3rd quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 119,865 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $12,456,000 after purchasing an additional 88,562 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, EVP Christopher Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.60, for a total transaction of $349,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 563,353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $67,940,371.80. This trade represents a 0.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.60, for a total value of $1,582,875.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 634,790 shares in the company, valued at $76,555,674. This represents a 2.03% 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. Insiders have sold a total of 102,244 shares of company stock worth $11,112,044 over the last 90 days. Corporate 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: Energy investment expands Walmart’s customer offerings: Walmart is making a strategic investment in Base Power and will offer the company’s home battery systems to Walmart customers and Sam’s Club members beginning in November. The systems are designed to reduce energy costs and provide backup power, creating a potential new customer benefit while expanding Walmart’s ecosystem beyond traditional retail. Walmart and Base Power announce strategic agreement
• Positive Sentiment: Major automation agreement with Symbotic: Walmart expanded its commercial relationship with warehouse-automation provider Symbotic in a deal valued at approximately $6 billion. Greater automation could improve fulfillment capacity, labor efficiency and inventory management, although the investment also carries execution and capital-spending risks. Symbotic stock jumps on Walmart automation deal
• Positive Sentiment: Strong fundamentals continue to support the stock: Walmart’s latest quarterly results exceeded consensus estimates for both earnings and revenue, with revenue rising year over year. Analysts and market commentary continue to highlight earnings growth and price strength as reasons to remain constructive on WMT. Earnings growth and price strength make Walmart a stock to watch
• Neutral Sentiment: Healthcare expansion offers a longer-term growth avenue: Walmart has broadened its Better Care Services platform into a healthcare marketplace connecting customers with third-party providers. The initiative could increase customer engagement, but its financial contribution is not yet clear. Walmart launched a healthcare services marketplace
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive and regulatory concerns remain: DoorDash’s proposed $17 billion acquisition of Instacart is intended partly to strengthen competition with Walmart and Amazon in local commerce and grocery delivery. Separately, the FTC is seeking information from Walmart about the use of personal data in personalized pricing, creating potential compliance and reputational risks. FTC orders Walmart and others to share pricing data information
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation comparisons could limit upside: Walmart trades at a substantially higher earnings multiple than Target, while commentary suggests Walmart’s comparable-sales growth may be moderating. That premium leaves the stock more exposed if growth expectations weaken. Target trades at a fraction of Walmart’s valuation

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on WMT shares. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 price objective (down from $140.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $125.00 target price (down from $140.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Walmart from $140.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Guggenheim set a $130.00 price target on Walmart and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Walmart from $147.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $132.41.

Walmart Price Performance

NASDAQ:WMT opened at $123.51 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $979.90 billion, a PE ratio of 44.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.58. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $110.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $118.40. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $98.88 and a 52 week high of $135.15.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The retailer reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $187.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $186.64 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 3.00% and a return on equity of 21.83%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.68 EPS. Walmart has set its Q3 2027 guidance at 0.620-0.640 EPS and its FY 2027 guidance at 2.800-2.870 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Walmart

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.