Vega Investment Solutions Invests $1.25 Million in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Vega Investment Solutions bought a new stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 11,059 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,253,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at $6,458,529,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 188.1% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,663,172 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,199,907,000 after acquiring an additional 7,614,172 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 54.0% during the 2nd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 18,607,297 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,107,462,000 after acquiring an additional 6,525,224 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 103,010,709 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $11,426,753,000 after acquiring an additional 6,517,394 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $592,848,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Walmart News

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart’s fiscal second-quarter results showed continued momentum beyond traditional store sales: revenue reached approximately $187.9 billion, global e-commerce grew 23%, and advertising revenue increased 38%. These higher-growth businesses could support future margins and cash flow. Walmart Growth Engine Hums
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and commentary continue to point to Walmart’s expanding e-commerce, digital advertising, memberships, convenience-led fulfillment, automation and AI initiatives as reasons the recent decline could represent a long-term buying opportunity. Walmart’s scale and value-focused pricing remain important competitive advantages. Walmart Continues to Grow Beyond Retail
• Neutral Sentiment: Walmart settled a U.S. Justice Department lawsuit alleging that its pharmacies unlawfully contributed to the opioid epidemic. Resolving the case removes an overhang and reduces legal uncertainty, although the financial terms and any broader implications remain important for investors. Walmart Settles U.S. Opioid Lawsuit
• Negative Sentiment: Recent coverage highlights a potentially tougher consumer environment. Walmart’s comparable sales growth was 3.4% excluding pharmacy-related items, while middle-income shoppers appear increasingly focused on necessities and limiting discretionary purchases. Walmart and Home Depot Results
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are also questioning whether Walmart’s valuation adequately reflects its strong performance. A high earnings multiple, slower core sales growth and the stock’s position below its moving averages have amplified the impact of the recent selloff. Walmart Selloff Analysis
• Negative Sentiment: Executive Vice President Daniel Danker sold 50,644 shares worth approximately $5.3 million. The sale was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan to cover taxes on vested equity awards, making it a weaker bearish signal than discretionary insider selling. Walmart Insider Trading Filing

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WMT. Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $155.00 price target (up from $150.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Walmart from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. DA Davidson set a $132.00 price objective on Walmart and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Freedom Broker upgraded Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $128.00 target price (down from $137.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.88.

Walmart Stock Up 0.4%

WMT stock opened at $103.09 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $95.79 and a 52 week high of $135.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $111.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $120.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $820.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 0.61.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The retailer reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.07. Walmart had a net margin of 3.00% and a return on equity of 21.83%. The firm had revenue of $187.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $186.64 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.68 EPS. Walmart’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. Equities analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, EVP Daniel Danker sold 50,644 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.35, for a total transaction of $5,335,345.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 201,672 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,246,145.20. The trade was a 20.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 J. Bartlett sold 3,775 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.64, for a total value of $413,891.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 630,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,074,186.76. This represents a 0.60% 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 77,292 shares of company stock worth $8,421,143 over the last three months. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Walmart 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.