LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC Invests $1.60 Million in Walmart Inc. $WMT

LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 14,096 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,597,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 184,805,978 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $19,046,104,000 after buying an additional 2,242,364 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 103,010,709 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $11,426,753,000 after purchasing an additional 6,517,394 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,458,529,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 40,626,852 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,526,238,000 after purchasing an additional 328,229 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 36,820,550 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,102,546,000 after purchasing an additional 920,969 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday. Citigroup lowered their target price on Walmart from $147.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on Walmart from $137.00 to $131.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 21st. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, BTIG Research lowered their price objective on shares of Walmart from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.88.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, EVP Latriece Watkins sold 11,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.97, for a total value of $1,308,670.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 120,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,300,550.91. The trade was a 8.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 569,153 shares in the company, valued at $60,523,730.02. 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. Insiders have sold 57,064 shares of company stock worth $6,697,788 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Walmart News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart’s Sparky AI shopping assistant reportedly generates 40% higher customer spending among users, while the company is also integrating AI into advertising and exploring technology partnerships with OpenAI and ChatGPT. These efforts could lift conversion, basket sizes and future digital-advertising revenue. Walmart Sparky AI article
• Positive Sentiment: The launch of Scenario, a women’s fashion brand with most products priced below $25, is designed to attract younger, trend-conscious shoppers and strengthen Walmart’s position in apparel. Its value pricing may help the retailer compete more directly with Amazon. Walmart Scenario fashion brand article
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts’ consensus price target of approximately $128 remains well above recent trading levels, suggesting some Wall Street analysts view the selloff as excessive. Walmart also exceeded quarterly EPS and revenue expectations and raised its full-year sales-growth outlook to 4%-5%.
• Neutral Sentiment: Walmart is rolling out NFC tap-to-pay across U.S. stores and clubs, improving checkout convenience and aligning with broader mobile-wallet adoption. The change may support engagement but is unlikely to materially alter near-term earnings. Walmart NFC rollout article
• Negative Sentiment: U.S. comparable sales increased only 2.6%, below the 3.8% consensus estimate and representing Walmart’s slowest comparable-sales growth in six years. Higher gasoline prices and broader economic pressure may be making consumers more cautious, despite the earnings beat. Walmart comparable-sales miss article
• Negative Sentiment: Amazon’s share of U.S. clothing spending doubled to 17% in 2025 from 8.5% in 2019, while Walmart’s share edged lower. The widening gap raises concerns about Walmart’s ability to gain share in an important retail category. Amazon and Walmart clothing-share article
• Negative Sentiment: Commentators argue WMT still trades at a premium valuation—roughly 36 times forward earnings—despite decelerating growth and cautious consumer trends. That leaves less room for disappointment and has amplified the post-earnings decline.

Walmart Trading Down 1.0%

NASDAQ:WMT opened at $105.38 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $838.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.04, a P/E/G ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.61. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $112.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $120.93. 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 52 week low of $95.42 and a 52 week high of $135.15.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last posted 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 company had revenue of $187.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $186.64 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 3.00% and a return on equity of 21.83%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous 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. On average, research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Walmart

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.