Walmart Inc. $WMT Stake Raised by Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd

Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 36.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,055 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,123 shares during the period. Walmart makes up 0.0% of Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Walmart were worth $4,643,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Walmart by 1.4% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 431,817,510 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,223,116,000 after purchasing an additional 5,856,468 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 94,557,532 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $9,199,712,000 after purchasing an additional 263,718 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Walmart in the 2nd quarter worth about $5,367,770,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Walmart by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 31,973,329 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,126,775,000 after buying an additional 1,098,342 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi raised its holdings in Walmart by 23.5% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 19,493,644 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,902,775,000 after buying an additional 3,710,506 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 20,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.27, for a total value of $2,445,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 506,764 shares in the company, valued at $61,962,034.28. The trade was a 3.80% 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 John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.99, for a total transaction of $1,574,868.75. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 727,155 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,251,328.45. This trade represents a 1.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 229,196 shares of company stock worth $26,957,858 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Up 3.3%

Walmart stock opened at $131.18 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $79.81 and a 12 month high of $131.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market cap of $1.05 trillion, a P/E ratio of 45.87, a P/E/G ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.65. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $116.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $107.15.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on WMT. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $132.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday. DA Davidson set a $130.00 price target on shares of Walmart and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $119.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $110.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $130.00 target price (up previously from $120.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, December 19th. Thirty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.06.

Key Stories Impacting Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart joined the trillion‑dollar market‑cap club, boosting investor confidence that its investments in e‑commerce, tech and higher‑margin services are being rewarded. Walmart Trillion-Dollar Club (Fool)
• Positive Sentiment: Evidence of accelerating Walmart+ paid‑membership adoption supports a path to more recurring, higher‑margin revenue — a key part of the bull thesis. Walmart paid membership growth (Seeking Alpha)
• Positive Sentiment: Large institutional buying (e.g., Alecta boosting its stake) is a vote of confidence from some money managers and can support the stock at higher levels. Alecta boosts stake in Walmart (TipRanks)
• Positive Sentiment: Retail commentator Tim Bohen flagged Walmart among his “Big 3” long‑term AI/retail ideas, reinforcing positive retail investor narratives. The Big 3: BE, WMT, XPO (YouTube)
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage is tilted positive but consensus targets are near current prices; recent quarterly results beat estimates and FY‑26 EPS guidance is modest — upside now depends on continued execution. Zacks: Earnings ESP for retailers
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling (EVP Donna Morris and others disclosed multi‑million dollar stock sales this week) can create short‑term selling pressure or be read as executives monetizing gains. Walmart insider selling (InsiderTrades)
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive risk from Amazon’s physical grocery/fulfillment push and Walmart’s elevated multiples mean any slowdown in sales or margin mix could trigger a pullback. Amazon grocery competition (Reuters)

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.