Shepherd Financial Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Shepherd Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 49,701 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $5,629,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,458,529,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 188.1% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,663,172 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,199,907,000 after buying an additional 7,614,172 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 54.0% during the second quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 18,607,297 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,107,462,000 after buying an additional 6,525,224 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 103,010,709 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $11,426,753,000 after buying an additional 6,517,394 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $592,848,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart reported adjusted earnings of $0.81 per share and revenue of $187.94 billion, beating consensus estimates of $0.74 and $186.62 billion, respectively. Revenue increased 5.9% year over year. Walmart earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Growth businesses remain strong: global e-commerce sales rose 23%, advertising revenue increased 38%, and global membership revenue grew 17%. These trends support the long-term investment case despite slower core-store growth. Walmart second-quarter highlights
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart plans to use approximately $2.9 billion in tariff refunds to help lower prices, potentially strengthening its value proposition as consumers become more budget-conscious. The rollout of tap-to-pay, including Apple Pay and Google Pay, may also improve checkout convenience. Walmart tap to pay rollout
• Neutral Sentiment: Several analysts retained bullish ratings—including buy, outperform, and overweight—but lowered price targets after the earnings release. New targets range from $120 to $140, indicating analysts still see meaningful upside but have moderated their expectations.
• Negative Sentiment: U.S. comparable sales grew 2.6%, below expectations near 3.5%, marking Walmart’s weakest domestic comparable-sales growth in more than six years. Analysts cited weakness in health and wellness and questioned the trajectory of the core U.S. business.
• Negative Sentiment: Third-quarter guidance fell short of consensus: Walmart projected adjusted EPS of $0.62–$0.64 versus $0.68 expected and revenue of $183.1–$184.5 billion versus $188.2 billion expected. The timing of Flipkart’s promotional event is also expected to reduce quarterly sales growth by more than 100 basis points.
• Negative Sentiment: The stock’s elevated valuation increases sensitivity to any slowdown, while higher energy costs and consumer trade-offs are raising broader concerns about the health of U.S. retail spending.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WMT opened at $103.70 on Monday. 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. The firm has a market cap of $825.25 billion, a PE ratio of 37.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.61. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $113.35 and its 200-day moving average is $121.24.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 20th. The retailer reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $187.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $186.64 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.83% and a net margin of 3.00%.Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business 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. Sell-side analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.63, for a total value of $2,303,320.08. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,174,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $495,230,306.77. The trade was a 0.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Latriece Watkins sold 11,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 120,203 shares in the company, valued at $14,300,550.91. The trade was a 8.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 57,064 shares of company stock valued at $6,697,788. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WMT. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday. Weiss Ratings lowered Walmart from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Citigroup lowered their target price on Walmart from $147.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Erste Group Bank downgraded Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Roth Capital reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.88.

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.