Heritage Investors Management Corp Reduces Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Heritage Investors Management Corp lowered its stake in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 2.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 477,776 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 13,852 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for approximately 1.8% of Heritage Investors Management Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Heritage Investors Management Corp’s holdings in Walmart were worth $59,378,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MFA Wealth Services lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. MFA Wealth Services now owns 10,909 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,356,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Realta Investment Advisors raised its stake in Walmart by 2.0% in the first quarter. Realta Investment Advisors now owns 4,089 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $508,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Group LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Group LLC now owns 9,636 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,074,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Calton & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in Walmart by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Calton & Associates Inc. now owns 27,220 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,033,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. Finally, Advocacy Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Advocacy Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,392 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $378,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 4,174,579 shares in the company, valued at approximately $495,230,306.77. This trade represents a 0.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.84, for a total value of $1,638,525.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 674,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $84,162,384.08. The trade was a 1.91% decrease in their position. 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 sold a total of 104,505 shares of company stock worth $12,858,514 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Key Walmart News

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart is being viewed as a defensive winner in a cautious consumer environment, with commentary pointing to resilient grocery spending, strong omnichannel execution, and growth in advertising and membership revenue as reasons the stock could grind higher. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain broadly constructive on Walmart, and new commentary highlighted strong interest in the company’s Google AI partnership for “agentic shopping,” which could support future digital commerce growth and ecosystem monetization. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Unusual options activity showed bullish positioning, with traders buying far more WMT call options than usual, suggesting some investors are betting on a rebound. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street continues to rate Walmart favorably overall, with several firms reiterating buy-equivalent ratings and an average price target above current levels, though not enough to fully offset recent valuation concerns.
• Negative Sentiment: Investor concern remains over slowing U.S. comparable sales and the company’s reliance on price cuts and tariff refunds to manage inventory, which could pressure margins if the trend continues. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Walmart EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 3,775 shares in a pre-arranged 10b5-1 transaction, a routine filing but still a small negative sentiment item for traders. Article Title

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $111.84 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $122.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $122.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $890.03 billion, a PE ratio of 39.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 0.60. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $94.23 and a 52-week high of $135.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.77.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66. The firm had revenue of $177.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $174.84 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 3.13% and a return on equity of 21.25%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.61 earnings per share. Walmart has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.750-2.850 EPS and its Q2 2027 guidance at 0.720-0.740 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Truist Financial set a $140.00 target price on Walmart in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price target (up from $150.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Walmart from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $137.00 price objective (up from $135.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, May 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $138.85.

Walmart Company 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.