Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Sells 20,182 Shares of Walmart Inc. $WMT

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lowered its stake in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 437,564 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 20,182 shares during the quarter. Walmart comprises approximately 1.3% of Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $45,095,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 28.1% in the third quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 103,107 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $10,626,000 after buying an additional 22,603 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its holdings in Walmart by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 15,059 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,552,000 after buying an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 16.6% in the 3rd quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,611 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,197,000 after acquiring an additional 1,654 shares during the last quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 14,348 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,479,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lakeshore Capital Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Lakeshore Capital Group Inc. now owns 13,817 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,424,000 after acquiring an additional 337 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong fundamentals and analyst backing: Walmart’s recent quarterly beat and FY‑2026 EPS guidance provide an earnings-supportive backdrop, and multiple analysts maintain buy/outperform views — a tailwind for longer-term investor confidence.
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO insider sale — routine but notable: CEO C. Douglas McMillon sold 19,416 shares on Dec. 26 (avg price $111.83). The sale is relatively small (≈0.45% reduction) and follows prior periodic sales; investors often view such filings as liquidity/tax planning rather than a signal of deteriorating fundamentals. Insider Trades
• Neutral Sentiment: Talent flow to adtech/ecommerce: a former head of membership & business development at Walmart Business joined Teikametrics as SVP of Strategy — a reminder of Wal‑Mart alumni moving into the wider e‑commerce/AI ecosystem, which can both diffuse company-specific know‑how and broaden industry innovation. BusinessWire
• Neutral Sentiment: Increased investor attention: Zacks notes Walmart as a trending stock — higher retail interest can raise liquidity and volatility but doesn’t change fundamentals by itself. Zacks
• Negative Sentiment: Website and app outage — immediate operational risk: thousands of customers reported inability to access Walmart’s app and website on Dec. 30, per Downdetector and press reports. Temporary outages during peak shopping periods can dent e‑commerce sales, frustrate customers, and attract short‑term selling pressure. PYMNTS WSJ
• Negative Sentiment: Premium valuation and crowding risk: Walmart is trading at a high earnings multiple relative to history (~39x reported), which can limit upside and make the stock more sensitive to any growth or margin disappointments in 2026.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. CICC Research assumed coverage on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, December 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $125.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $128.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 21st. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $125.00 price target (up previously from $120.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, November 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $122.00 price target (up previously from $118.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Thirty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $120.69.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,425 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.00, for a total value of $166,725.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 641,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $75,039,471. This represents a 0.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.83, for a total transaction of $2,171,291.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 4,315,333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $482,583,689.39. The trade was a 0.45% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 125,628 shares of company stock valued at $13,690,065. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Down 0.5%

WMT opened at $111.92 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $108.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $102.86. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $79.81 and a one year high of $117.45. The stock has a market cap of $892.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.13, a P/E/G ratio of 5.20 and a beta of 0.64.

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

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.