Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) CTO Suresh Kumar Sells 166,342 Shares of Company Stock

Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) CTO Suresh Kumar sold 166,342 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.21, for a total transaction of $20,494,997.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 1,632,223 shares in the company, valued at approximately $201,106,195.83. This represents a 9.25% 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 hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of Walmart stock traded down $2.83 on Tuesday, hitting $124.86. The stock had a trading volume of 20,989,358 shares, compared to its average volume of 24,837,939. The stock has a market cap of $990.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.29 and a beta of 0.58. 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 twelve month low of $98.88 and a twelve month high of $135.15. The business’s 50 day moving average is $110.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $118.44.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The retailer reported $0.81 earnings per share 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 for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $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. Analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.87 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Compton Financial Group LLC grew its position in Walmart by 4.1% in the first quarter. Compton Financial Group LLC now owns 2,081 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $259,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Strait & Sound Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 0.3% during the first quarter. Strait & Sound Wealth Management LLC now owns 25,443 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,162,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Lodestar Private Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 0.9% during the first quarter. Lodestar Private Asset Management LLC now owns 9,577 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,190,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Kassira Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.8% in the third quarter. Kassira Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,538 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,199,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bernicke Wealth Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.7% in the second quarter. Bernicke Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 12,548 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,421,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart’s e-commerce sales are reportedly growing faster than Amazon’s, and the company has gained online market share. That growth could help support its longer-term sales outlook. Article: 1 Stat That Makes Walmart Hard to Ignore This November
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart is expanding its Sparky AI shopping assistant ahead of the holiday season. The initiative could improve customer engagement and order spending, though its sales impact remains to be seen. Article: Can Walmart’s Expanded Sparky AI Boost Holiday Shopping and Sales?
• Neutral Sentiment: A Zacks analysis says Walmart’s earnings history and current indicators make another earnings beat possible. This is an analyst expectation, not a reported result. Article: Why Walmart Is Poised to Beat Earnings Estimates Again
• Neutral Sentiment: Walmart is investigating whistleblower claims of vendor kickbacks at Flipkart; the allegations have not been established. The company also announced a home backup-energy offering and plans for a Texas robotics facility, developments whose financial effects are unclear. Article: Walmart Probes Flipkart Claims As It Expands Into Power And Texas Robotics
• Negative Sentiment: Recent commentary has called Walmart’s valuation stretched and reiterated a “strong sell” view. Concerns that the share price already reflects substantial growth could pressure sentiment, despite the company’s defensive retail profile. Article: Walmart: Back To The Strong Sell Rating Article: Walmart’s Defensive Reputation Collides With A Stretched Valuation

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on WMT. Freedom Broker upgraded shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $137.00 to $131.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Walmart to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Tigress Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday. Four investment 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. According to MarketBeat, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $132.41.

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.