Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Decreases Stake in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 1.1% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,115,714 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 12,855 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for about 1.9% of Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $114,985,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WMT. Access Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. PFS Partners LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 267.8% during the second quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 320 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 55.3% during the second quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 323 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new stake in Walmart in the 2nd quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Harbor Asset Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart in the 2nd quarter valued at $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.21, for a total value of $460,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 1,031,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $118,833,930.55. The trade was a 0.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 26th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $482,583,689.39. This trade represents a 0.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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.

Key Walmart News

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Appointment of Shishir Mehrotra to the board — Mehrotra (CEO of Superhuman, ex-Grammarly) adds AI/tech product experience and will join the Technology & eCommerce committee, signaling stronger governance and capability for Walmart’s digital and AI initiatives, which investors view as key to e-commerce and supply-chain improvements. Walmart names Shishir Mehrotra to Board of Directors
• Positive Sentiment: New youth fashion line (Mills by Millie Bobby Brown) — Walmart launched an exclusive teen/young-women apparel brand, a low-cost, high-traffic assortment that can drive store/online visits and margins in private brands. It’s a low-capex way to boost traffic and demographic reach. Millie Bobby Brown Debuts Exclusive Fashion Line for Teens and Young Women at Walmart
• Positive Sentiment: Launch of Better Care Services digital healthcare platform — Walmart expanded into a digital healthcare network and cut prices on some wellness items; this broadens Walmart’s services revenue mix and leverages scale in health/wellness, a potential traffic and loyalty driver over time. Walmart Launches Digital Healthcare Platform, to Cut Prices on Some Health Items
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst/consensus views mixed but constructive — Wells Fargo kept an Overweight rating and lifted its price target to $130, and broader analyst consensus remains around a “moderate buy,” supporting a positive medium-term view despite some caution. Wells Fargo Sees Opportunity at Walmart (WMT) Walmart Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy”
• Neutral Sentiment: Market mentions & technical chatter — Several outlets flagged WMT among stocks to watch and technical bullish narratives (Elliott Wave / fair-value discussions). These are interest drivers but lower-impact than company strategy or analyst changes. 4 stocks to watch on Thursday: GOOG, TD, ARM, WMT
• Negative Sentiment: Deutsche Bank downgrade to Hold — Deutsche Bank cut WMT from Buy to Hold and set a $119 target, which is modestly above current levels; downgrades can weigh on near-term momentum and cap upside until execution or guidance clears. Walmart resumed with a Hold at Deutsche Bank

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on WMT. CICC Research initiated coverage on Walmart in a report on Friday, December 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $125.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $123.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $125.00 price target (up previously from $120.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, November 21st. Finally, UBS Group set a $130.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Thirty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.37.

Walmart Price Performance

Walmart stock opened at $113.07 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $109.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $103.61. 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 1 year low of $79.81 and a 1 year high of $117.45. The company has a market capitalization of $901.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.20 and a beta of 0.66.

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