New York State Teachers Retirement System Reduces Holdings in Walmart Inc. $WMT

New York State Teachers Retirement System decreased its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 0.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,501,848 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 24,180 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up 0.9% of New York State Teachers Retirement System’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Walmart were worth $435,210,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 2,416,580 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $300,333,000 after purchasing an additional 68,632 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA grew its holdings in Walmart by 253.3% during the 1st quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA now owns 384,034 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $47,728,000 after buying an additional 275,337 shares in the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. increased its position in shares of Walmart by 42.1% during the fourth quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 275,341 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $30,676,000 after buying an additional 81,635 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of Walmart by 2.9% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,010,886 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $104,182,000 after buying an additional 28,026 shares during the period. Finally, Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at about $40,855,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on WMT. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Freedom Capital raised shares of Walmart from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $137.00 target price (up from $135.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $155.00 price target (up from $150.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, May 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.85.

Walmart News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart is being viewed as a defensive winner in a cautious consumer environment, with commentary pointing to resilient grocery spending, strong omnichannel execution, and growth in advertising and membership revenue as reasons the stock could grind higher. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain broadly constructive on Walmart, and new commentary highlighted strong interest in the company’s Google AI partnership for “agentic shopping,” which could support future digital commerce growth and ecosystem monetization. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Unusual options activity showed bullish positioning, with traders buying far more WMT call options than usual, suggesting some investors are betting on a rebound. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street continues to rate Walmart favorably overall, with several firms reiterating buy-equivalent ratings and an average price target above current levels, though not enough to fully offset recent valuation concerns.
• Negative Sentiment: Investor concern remains over slowing U.S. comparable sales and the company’s reliance on price cuts and tariff refunds to manage inventory, which could pressure margins if the trend continues. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Walmart EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 3,775 shares in a pre-arranged 10b5-1 transaction, a routine filing but still a small negative sentiment item for traders. Article Title

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $111.84 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $122.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $122.11. The company has a market capitalization of $890.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.24, a P/E/G ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 0.60. 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 1-year low of $94.23 and a 1-year high of $135.15.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66. The business had revenue of $177.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $174.84 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 3.13% and a return on equity of 21.25%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.61 EPS. Walmart has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.750-2.850 EPS and its Q2 2027 guidance at 0.720-0.740 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 3,775 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.64, for a total value of $413,891.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 630,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,074,186.76. This represents a 0.60% 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. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Latriece Watkins sold 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.97, for a total value of $1,308,670.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 120,203 shares in the company, valued at $14,300,550.91. The trade was a 8.38% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 104,505 shares of company stock valued at $12,858,514 in the last three months. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Company 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.