American National Bank & Trust Reduces Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. $WMT

American National Bank & Trust lessened its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 246,566 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 13,045 shares during the quarter. Walmart accounts for about 2.3% of American National Bank & Trust’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. American National Bank & Trust’s holdings in Walmart were worth $25,623,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 188,036,646 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $21,297,031,000 after purchasing an additional 2,107,781 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the second quarter worth $7,455,131,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 6.4% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 28,142,040 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,497,493,000 after buying an additional 1,681,353 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,905,655,000. Finally, Amundi increased its stake in Walmart by 44.4% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 20,796,957 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,355,463,000 after buying an additional 6,393,326 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on WMT. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Walmart from $147.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Walmart from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. Gordon Haskett downgraded Walmart from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Walmart to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, August 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.74.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, EVP Christopher Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.65, for a total transaction of $309,285.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 566,253 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,390,882.45. This represents a 0.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Daniel Bartlett sold 3,990 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.41, for a total transaction of $416,595.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 618,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $64,562,863.19. This represents a 0.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 81,219 shares of company stock valued at $8,604,429 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart Connect is expanding beyond Walmart’s own platforms. The company will let advertisers use Walmart shopper data across Warner Bros. Discovery television properties, Spotify audio and Yahoo, including programmatic audience activation and performance measurement. The broader reach could accelerate advertising growth and improve Walmart’s profit mix. How Is Walmart Turning Shopper Data Into a Bigger Advertising Business?
• Positive Sentiment: Digital-profit momentum remains strong. Recent coverage highlights 43% growth in Walmart Connect revenue, 24% year-over-year U.S. e-commerce growth and double-digit membership gains. Advertising, delivery and membership revenue can generate better margins than traditional retail sales. Can Walmart Connect Keep Powering WMT’s Digital Profit Growth?
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart is participating in a new AI-agent commerce standard. Meta and Sierra are developing the Personal Agent Protocol with Walmart and other companies, potentially allowing consumers’ AI agents to interact directly with businesses. Participation could help Walmart remain prominent as AI-driven shopping develops. Meta and Sierra Launch Protocol for AI Agents to Interact With Businesses
• Positive Sentiment: Unusually heavy call-option activity—267,098 contracts, roughly 99% above average daily volume—signals increased bullish speculation, although it does not guarantee future gains.
• Neutral Sentiment: Walmart and Costco are reportedly among the retailers most frequently cited by AI shopping agents, an early indication of strong consumer awareness but not yet a direct earnings catalyst. Which Retailers Do AI Agents Cite the Most?
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation remains a concern. Walmart trades at approximately 39 times earnings and remains below its 52-week high, leaving the stock vulnerable if advertising or e-commerce growth slows. Its low-margin retail model and modest net margin also limit room for execution mistakes.

Walmart Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:WMT traded up $1.06 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $108.26. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,330,541 shares, compared to its average volume of 25,217,717. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.77. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $98.88 and a fifty-two week high of $135.15. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $108.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $116.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $858.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.09, a PEG ratio of 4.01 and a beta of 0.58.

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

Walmart Profile

Walmart Inc (NASDAQ: WMT) is a multinational retailer that operates supercenters, discount stores, neighborhood markets, warehouse clubs and e-commerce platforms. Its merchandise includes groceries, apparel, electronics, home goods, health and wellness products, household essentials and general merchandise. Walmart also provides services such as grocery pickup and delivery, pharmacy services, financial products and digital advertising.

The company serves customers through its Walmart U.S., Walmart International and Sam’s Club segments.