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

Heritage Investors Management Corp lowered its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 1.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 472,513 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 5,263 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up about 1.5% of Heritage Investors Management Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Heritage Investors Management Corp’s holdings in Walmart were worth $53,517,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. MFA Wealth Services raised its stake in Walmart by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. MFA Wealth Services now owns 10,909 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,356,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Realta Investment Advisors boosted its stake in Walmart by 2.0% in the first quarter. Realta Investment Advisors now owns 4,089 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $508,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Compton Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 4.1% during the first quarter. Compton Financial Group LLC now owns 2,081 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Group LLC now owns 9,636 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,074,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Calton & Associates Inc. increased its position in shares of Walmart by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Calton & Associates Inc. now owns 27,220 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,033,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart’s e-commerce business continues to be viewed as a significant growth engine, with its digital capabilities increasingly resembling a broader commerce platform rather than a traditional big-box retailer. Walmart’s E-Commerce Engine Roars
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies said potential tariff refunds could support Walmart’s price-leadership strategy. Reinvesting the money in lower prices could widen its price gap with competitors and help drive market-share gains, particularly in consumables. Walmart set for in-line Q2
• Positive Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “Outperform” rating, providing some support for the long-term investment case despite near-term sales concerns. RBC Reaffirms Outperform Rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Walmart is expected to deliver largely in-line second-quarter results. The key catalysts are management’s second-half outlook, tariff-refund treatment and the potential effect on pricing and margins. Walmart Q2 earnings preview
• Neutral Sentiment: The company will release results before the market opens on August 20 and host a conference call with CEO John Furner and CFO John David Rainey. Walmart to Host Second Quarter Earnings Conference Call
• Negative Sentiment: Deutsche Bank expects Walmart to miss second-quarter comparable-sales estimates, while high gasoline prices are pressuring household budgets and raising the retailer’s operating costs. Walmart Seen Missing Comparable Sales Estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts have cited elevated fuel costs, rising expenses and valuation concerns as reasons for Walmart’s recent weakness, despite solid revenue growth and e-commerce momentum. Walmart Stock Slides About 12% in 3 Months
• Negative Sentiment: Amazon’s AI-powered Alexa shopping tools could intensify competition for grocery-list creation and digital shopping relationships, areas strategically important to Walmart’s e-commerce growth. Amazon’s Alexa Shopping Strategy

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, EVP Latriece Watkins sold 11,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.97, for a total value of $1,308,670.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 120,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,300,550.91. The trade was a 8.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.08, for a total transaction of $1,628,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 661,037 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $82,021,470.96. This trade represents a 1.95% 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 70,189 shares of company stock worth $8,377,320 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WMT. Oppenheimer downgraded Walmart from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $137.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 target price (up from $145.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.56.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT opened at $115.27 on Monday. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $95.42 and a 52 week high of $135.15. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $114.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $121.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a market cap of $917.33 billion, a PE ratio of 40.45, a P/E/G ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 0.61.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.66. The company had revenue of $177.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $174.84 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.25% and a net margin of 3.13%.The company’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.61 EPS. Walmart has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.750-2.850 EPS and its Q2 2027 guidance at 0.720-0.740 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.88 EPS for the current year.

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.