Kranot Hishtalmut Le Morim Tichoniim Havera Menahelet LTD Invests $4.70 Million in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Kranot Hishtalmut Le Morim Tichoniim Havera Menahelet LTD bought a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 41,481 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $4,698,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WMT. Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Walmart during the second quarter worth approximately $6,451,000. Advisortrust Partners LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 20.2% in the first quarter. Advisortrust Partners LLC now owns 67,142 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,344,000 after buying an additional 11,283 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 253.3% in the first quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA now owns 384,034 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $47,728,000 after acquiring an additional 275,337 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 2.9% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 2,416,580 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $300,333,000 after acquiring an additional 68,632 shares during the period. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. grew 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 worth $30,676,000 after acquiring an additional 81,635 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Opioid settlement removes a major legal overhang. Walmart agreed to pay $50 million to resolve a federal opioid case, substantially less than the potential multibillion-dollar liability discussed by the Justice Department. The relatively modest settlement limits financial and legal uncertainty. Walmart Settles a Potential Multibillion-Dollar Opioid Case for $50 Million
• Positive Sentiment: Artificial intelligence could support operational and sales growth. TD Cowen identified Walmart among the retailers best positioned to benefit as AI improves shopping, merchandising and store operations. The opportunity could strengthen productivity and customer engagement over time. Walmart, Ulta and Other Retailers That Can Win With AI
• Positive Sentiment: Higher-margin advertising remains a growth opportunity. Walmart’s expanding advertising business is improving its sales mix as digital commerce grows, potentially lifting profits faster than revenue. Walmart’s Ad Business Expands
• Neutral Sentiment: Defensive characteristics may attract investors ahead of CPI and the Federal Reserve decision. Walmart is being viewed as a relatively stable, consumer-oriented holding during macroeconomic uncertainty, although interest-rate expectations could continue to influence its valuation. 5 Defensive Stocks to Watch as CPI and the Fed Put the Rally to the Test
• Neutral Sentiment: Strong participation by older shoppers in major summer e-commerce events indicates continued consumer traffic for Walmart, but the report also underscores intense competition with Amazon. Boomers Fueled Amazon and Walmart Summer Sales Crowds
• Negative Sentiment: Near-term earnings pressure could temper enthusiasm. Although advertising is high margin, costs associated with Walmart’s Vibe initiatives are expected to weigh on fiscal 2027 profit growth. With the stock’s elevated earnings multiple, investors may demand stronger earnings acceleration. Walmart’s Ad Business Expands

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on WMT shares. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $126.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, August 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Walmart from $137.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $147.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Freedom Capital raised shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, Evercore set a $125.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.88.

Walmart Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $106.05 on Wednesday. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $98.88 and a one year high of $135.15. The company has a market cap of $841.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.29, a PEG ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.77. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $110.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $119.22.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The retailer reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.07. Walmart had a net margin of 3.00% and a return on equity of 21.83%. The business had revenue of $187.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $186.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.68 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Walmart has set its Q3 2027 guidance at 0.620-0.640 EPS and its FY 2027 guidance at 2.800-2.870 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel Danker sold 50,644 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.35, for a total value of $5,335,345.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 201,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,246,145.20. The trade was a 20.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, EVP Daniel Bartlett sold 3,950 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.14, for a total value of $415,303.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 622,349 shares in the company, valued at $65,433,773.86. The trade was a 0.63% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 69,264 shares of company stock worth $7,401,242 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Profile

Walmart Inc is a multinational retail and technology company that operates supercenters, discount stores, neighborhood markets, e-commerce platforms and membership warehouse clubs. Its merchandise includes groceries, apparel, electronics, home goods, health and beauty products, general merchandise and other consumer products.

Founded by Sam Walton in 1962 and incorporated in 1969, Walmart is headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas. The company serves customers through operations in the United States and international markets, including Mexico, Canada, China, India and several countries in Central America and Africa.