Walmart Inc. $WMT Holdings Raised by LifeSteps Financial Inc.

LifeSteps Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 18.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,653 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,632 shares during the quarter. Walmart comprises about 0.7% of LifeSteps Financial Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. LifeSteps Financial Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,042,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Operose Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 319.7% during the first quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 319 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. PFS Partners LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 267.8% during the second quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 320 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares during the period. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. grew its holdings in Walmart by 98.2% during the first quarter. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. now owns 337 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd grew its holdings in Walmart by 432.4% during the first quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 362 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares during the period. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC grew 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 acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on WMT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Walmart from $101.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Erste Group Bank raised Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Walmart from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $110.00 price target (up previously from $108.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $117.00 price target on Walmart and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Thirty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $112.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Walmart Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE:WMT opened at $102.90 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.23. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $79.37 and a fifty-two week high of $106.11. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $101.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $96.96. The stock has a market cap of $820.41 billion, a PE ratio of 38.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 0.67.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its 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 business had revenue of $169.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $174.02 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.67 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Walmart has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.580-0.600 EPS. FY 2026 guidance at 2.520-2.620 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart 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.