Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. Raises Stake in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. increased its stake in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 16.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 63,782 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,061 shares during the quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $6,567,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Access Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Walmart in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. PFS Partners LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 267.8% in the 2nd quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 320 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 55.3% during the second quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 323 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc raised its holdings in Walmart by 212.6% during the third quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 322 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart during the third quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Walmart from $110.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 21st. DA Davidson set a $130.00 target price on shares of Walmart and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 21st. Truist Financial set a $127.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Evercore ISI set a $120.00 price target on shares of Walmart and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on Walmart from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Thirty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.03.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.65, for a total value of $746,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,535,221.85. This represents a 4.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.91, for a total transaction of $1,508,193.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 733,841 shares in the company, valued at approximately $84,325,669.31. This represents a 1.76% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 139,215 shares of company stock valued at $15,502,810 over the last quarter. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Walmart News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Executive succession clarified: John Furner will become CEO next month and promoted longtime insider David Guggina to CEO of Walmart U.S., a move investors interpret as continuity-focused and supportive for execution on omnichannel and AI strategies. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: AI/digital momentum: Coverage highlights Walmart’s AI initiatives and partnerships (Google/Alphabet, OpenAI/ChatGPT) as starting to produce sales/efficiency upside — a strategic story driving valuation premium and analyst optimism. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Fintech and ancillary growth: Walmart‑backed OnePay reached a $4B valuation milestone, signaling potential non‑retail upside from financial-services partnerships. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support: Multiple firms recently reiterated/raised Buy/Outperform views and targets, reinforcing short‑term institutional demand. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Competitive positioning: Analysts note Walmart is narrowing Amazon’s online lead — a positive strategic trend but one that still leaves intense competition and execution requirements. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: Several senior execs disclosed share sales (combined millions), which can be interpreted as routine diversification but may pressure sentiment short term. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: International leadership turnover: Walmart International CEO Kathryn McLay will depart (staying through transition), raising near‑term succession and execution questions for overseas growth. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Legal/tax uncertainty: India’s top court is set to rule on tax treatment of the 2018 Flipkart stake sale (Tiger Global → Walmart), a potential precedent with financial or reputational implications. Read More.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $119.70 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $111.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $104.54. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $79.81 and a twelve month high of $121.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $954.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.85, a PEG ratio of 5.10 and a beta of 0.66.

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