Versant Capital Management Inc Purchases 4,622 Shares of Walmart Inc. $WMT

Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 32.3% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 18,937 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,622 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,952,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 24.2% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,175,703 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $121,168,000 after buying an additional 229,220 shares during the period. Neuberger Berman Group LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 0.8% during the second quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 5,091,126 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $497,771,000 after acquiring an additional 42,645 shares in the last quarter. Aviva PLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 16.4% during the second quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 3,833,720 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $374,861,000 after acquiring an additional 539,504 shares in the last quarter. Weatherly Asset Management L. P. grew 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 acquiring an additional 3,696 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 5.2% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 293,866 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $30,286,000 after acquiring an additional 14,487 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WMT. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $130.00 price objective (up previously from $120.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, December 19th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $110.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 21st. UBS Group set a $130.00 price target on Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Evercore ISI set a $120.00 target price on shares of Walmart and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $123.00 price target (up previously from $111.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, November 21st. Thirty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.70.

Key Headlines Impacting Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: WMT hit a 52‑week high as steady sales, stronger e‑commerce growth and higher‑margin business lines boost investor confidence. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart’s partnerships with Alphabet/Google (Gemini) and ChatGPT are being highlighted by Goldman as a source of potential sales upside — this reinforces the narrative that Walmart is becoming a tech/AI‑driven retailer. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Inclusion in the Nasdaq‑100 and associated mechanical buying has been a near‑term catalyst, drawing index flows and re‑rating Walmart as more of a tech‑enabled company. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart expanded its drone delivery footprint and announced deeper Alphabet unit collaboration for AI shopping tools — both moves support faster online fulfillment and differentiated omnichannel capability. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Telsey Advisory reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $135 price target, signaling upside from current levels and giving institutional investors a bullish reference point. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Unusually large options and call buying (142k calls) and an insider purchase (~$93k by Shishir Mehrotra) indicate speculative and insider confidence in near‑term upside. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyses highlighting Walmart’s narrowing online gap with Amazon underline strategic progress, but competition and execution still matter for longer‑term market share gains. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary about rotation into value stocks positions Walmart as a beneficiary of risk‑off flows given its stable cash flows and dividend, but macro/interest‑rate dynamics remain the bigger market driver. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Some analysts and commentators argue Walmart is overvalued at current multiples and have reduced exposure; valuation sensitivity could cap upside if broader markets sell off. Read More. and Read More.

Walmart Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of WMT opened at $120.57 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $960.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.08, a PEG ratio of 5.03 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.80. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $79.81 and a 52-week high of $120.51. The business’s fifty day moving average is $110.42 and its 200-day moving average is $104.13.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.91, for a total transaction of $1,508,193.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 733,841 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $84,325,669.31. The trade was a 1.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.21, for a total transaction of $460,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 1,031,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $118,833,930.55. This trade represents a 0.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 124,078 shares of company stock worth $13,523,502 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.