Walmart Inc. $WMT Shares Bought by Bank of Nova Scotia

Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 379.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,258,338 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,370,380 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up 0.9% of Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest position. Bank of Nova Scotia owned about 0.05% of Walmart worth $529,184,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 28.8% in 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 valued at $800,000 after buying an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Peterson Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 3.5% during the first quarter. Peterson Wealth Management now owns 50,307 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,416,000 after acquiring an additional 1,715 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 13,008 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,272,000 after buying an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted its holdings in Walmart by 1.2% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 91,341 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,931,000 after acquiring an additional 1,048 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $137.00 target price (up from $135.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, May 11th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target (up from $145.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, May 18th. One equities 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $138.85.

Key Walmart News

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an outperform rating on Walmart and raised its price target to $137, signaling meaningful upside potential from current levels. Benzinga report on RBC rating
• Positive Sentiment: Several recent articles highlight Walmart as a wide-moat and growth stock, pointing to durable competitive advantages and steady financial growth that can support investor confidence. Wide-moat stocks article
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart announced a partnership with ReturnPro to refurbish and resell returned products, which could improve e-commerce efficiency, recover losses from returns, and reduce waste. Yahoo Finance ReturnPro partnership article
• Neutral Sentiment: Media coverage on Walmart’s dividend history may attract income-focused investors, but it does not appear to be a new catalyst for the stock today. TheStreet dividend article
• Neutral Sentiment: Technical commentary notes Walmart’s extended downturn could set up a possible rebound, but this is more of a sentiment/valuation call than a fundamental change. MSN comeback article
• Negative Sentiment: RBC and other market commentary suggest Walmart may report a softer fiscal Q2 as lower-income shoppers remain under pressure, raising concerns about near-term sales momentum. Yahoo Finance softer Q2 article
• Negative Sentiment: One article argues Walmart has lagged the market over the past several months, with recent softer results contributing to investor caution. Yahoo Finance stock falls article

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

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 value of $2,303,320.08. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,174,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $495,230,306.77. This trade represents a 0.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.19, for a total transaction of $342,751.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 574,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $67,953,695.07. This represents a 0.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 67,729 shares of company stock worth $8,124,931. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Walmart Trading Down 0.9%

WMT opened at $108.40 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.23. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $95.35 and a 12-month high of $135.15. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $117.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $122.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $862.66 billion, a PE ratio of 38.04, a P/E/G ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.60.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.66. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.25% and a net margin of 3.13%.The firm had revenue of $177.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $174.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.61 earnings per share. Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. 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 expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.