Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Has $22.19 Million Holdings in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management boosted its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 18.3% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 226,945 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 35,143 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Walmart were worth $22,191,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Weatherly Asset Management L. P. increased its stake in Walmart by 7.0% in the second quarter. Weatherly Asset Management L. P. now owns 56,140 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,489,000 after purchasing an additional 3,696 shares in the last quarter. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management increased its position in shares of Walmart by 34.6% during the first quarter. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management now owns 38,213 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,355,000 after acquiring an additional 9,831 shares in the last quarter. Ally Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the first quarter worth about $2,107,000. Night Squared LP bought a new stake in Walmart in the 1st quarter worth about $1,052,000. Finally, Monument Capital Management grew its position in Walmart by 94.2% in the 1st quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 55,004 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,829,000 after purchasing an additional 26,685 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT stock opened at $102.15 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.79. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $78.98 and a 52 week high of $106.11. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $100.77 and its 200 day moving average is $96.68. The firm has a market cap of $814.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.40, a P/E/G ratio of 4.81 and a beta of 0.67.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 21st. The retailer reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.06). Walmart had a net margin of 3.08% and a return on equity of 21.45%. The firm had revenue of $169.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $174.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.67 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Walmart has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.580-0.600 EPS. FY 2026 guidance at 2.520-2.620 EPS. Research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Mizuho reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $101.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Walmart from $111.00 to $109.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Thirty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $112.38.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.74, for a total transaction of $1,361,587.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 906,064 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $93,995,079.36. The trade was a 1.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.83, for a total transaction of $415,320.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 1,048,455 shares in the company, valued at $108,861,082.65. The trade was a 0.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 151,232 shares of company stock worth $15,083,877. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Company Profile

Walmart Inc engages in the operation of retail, wholesale, other units, and eCommerce worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam's Club. It operates supercenters, supermarkets, hypermarkets, warehouse clubs, cash and carry stores, and discount stores under Walmart and Walmart Neighborhood Market brands; membership-only warehouse clubs; ecommerce websites, such as walmart.com.mx, walmart.ca, flipkart.com, PhonePe and other sites; and mobile commerce applications.