Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Sells 20,182 Shares of Walmart Inc. $WMT

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. trimmed its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 437,564 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 20,182 shares during the quarter. Walmart comprises approximately 1.3% of Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $45,095,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WMT. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 28.8% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 98,150 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,868,000 after purchasing an additional 21,939 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Walmart by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,849 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $800,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the period. Peterson Wealth Management raised its stake in Walmart by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Peterson Wealth Management now owns 50,307 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,416,000 after buying an additional 1,715 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 182,703 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $16,040,000 after buying an additional 3,053 shares during the period. Finally, Unisphere Establishment boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 26.5% in the 1st quarter. Unisphere Establishment now owns 1,502,000 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $131,861,000 after buying an additional 315,000 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on WMT. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $110.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. CICC Research started coverage on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, December 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $125.00 target price for the company. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $122.00 price target (up from $118.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Thirty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $120.69.

Walmart Trading Down 0.5%

Walmart stock opened at $111.92 on Wednesday. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $79.81 and a 12-month high of $117.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $892.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.13, a P/E/G ratio of 5.20 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $108.35 and a 200 day moving average of $102.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The retailer reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $179.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $175.15 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 3.26% and a return on equity of 21.31%. The company’s revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.58 earnings per share. Walmart has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.580-2.630 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.83, for a total transaction of $2,171,291.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,315,333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $482,583,689.39. This trade represents a 0.45% 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. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,425 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.00, for a total value of $166,725.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 641,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $75,039,471. This trade represents a 0.22% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 125,628 shares of company stock worth $13,690,065 in the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Key Stores Impacting Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong fundamentals and analyst backing: Walmart’s recent quarterly beat and FY‑2026 EPS guidance provide an earnings-supportive backdrop, and multiple analysts maintain buy/outperform views — a tailwind for longer-term investor confidence.
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO insider sale — routine but notable: CEO C. Douglas McMillon sold 19,416 shares on Dec. 26 (avg price $111.83). The sale is relatively small (≈0.45% reduction) and follows prior periodic sales; investors often view such filings as liquidity/tax planning rather than a signal of deteriorating fundamentals. Insider Trades
• Neutral Sentiment: Talent flow to adtech/ecommerce: a former head of membership & business development at Walmart Business joined Teikametrics as SVP of Strategy — a reminder of Wal‑Mart alumni moving into the wider e‑commerce/AI ecosystem, which can both diffuse company-specific know‑how and broaden industry innovation. BusinessWire
• Neutral Sentiment: Increased investor attention: Zacks notes Walmart as a trending stock — higher retail interest can raise liquidity and volatility but doesn’t change fundamentals by itself. Zacks
• Negative Sentiment: Website and app outage — immediate operational risk: thousands of customers reported inability to access Walmart’s app and website on Dec. 30, per Downdetector and press reports. Temporary outages during peak shopping periods can dent e‑commerce sales, frustrate customers, and attract short‑term selling pressure. PYMNTS WSJ
• Negative Sentiment: Premium valuation and crowding risk: Walmart is trading at a high earnings multiple relative to history (~39x reported), which can limit upside and make the stock more sensitive to any growth or margin disappointments in 2026.

Walmart 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.