Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 109,909 Shares of Walmart Inc. $WMT

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,080,740 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 109,909 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $626,681,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 28.8% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 98,150 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,868,000 after purchasing an additional 21,939 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,849 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $800,000 after buying an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Peterson Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Walmart by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Peterson Wealth Management now owns 50,307 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,416,000 after buying an additional 1,715 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 13,008 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,272,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the period. Finally, Cliftonlarsonallen Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 18.3% in the 2nd quarter. Cliftonlarsonallen Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 20,548 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,009,000 after acquiring an additional 3,175 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Key Walmart News

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Leadership change signals digital focus — John Furner will become CEO of Walmart Inc. on Feb. 1, a move markets interpret as a deliberate shift to accelerate Walmart’s digital footprint and omnichannel execution, which could support long‑term revenue and margin expansion. Walmart’s Choice for New CEO Signals Intent to Expand Digital Footprint
• Positive Sentiment: Scale and top-line strength — a recent review highlights Walmart generated roughly $681 billion in revenue in fiscal 2025 (about $1.87B/day), underscoring the company’s dominant scale that supports bargaining power, assortment investment, and steady cash flow. Walmart’s $611 Billion Annual Revenue: Breaking Down $1.7 Billion Per Day
• Positive Sentiment: Front‑line investment in pharmacy staff — Walmart is boosting pay and elevating about 3,000 pharmacy roles, which should help reduce turnover, improve service in a high‑margin category, and support healthcare strategy. That operational investment is viewed positively for execution and customer experience. Walmart boosting pay potential for pharmacy technicians, elevates 3,000 roles
• Neutral Sentiment: Competitive landscape remains intense — coverage highlights ongoing competition between Walmart and Amazon across grocery and healthcare, a reminder that pricing and logistics arms races could pressure margins even as Walmart scales services. Amazon, Walmart Fight War on 2 Fronts: Grocery and Healthcare
• Neutral Sentiment: Merchandising promotions — brands like Cate & Chloe are featuring product assortments on Walmart.com for seasonal gifting (Valentine’s), which supports e‑commerce assortment and marketing but is not material alone. Cate & Chloe Highlights Valentine’s Day Hoop Earrings Available at Walmart
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader retail PR and community efforts — unrelated consumer goods relief efforts (e.g., P&G storm relief) reflect sector-wide CSR activity; positive for brand but limited direct impact on Walmart’s near‑term financials. PROCTER & GAMBLE BRINGS RELIEF TO MISSISSIPPI RESIDENTS AFFECTED BY SEVERE WINTER STORM

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 price objective (up previously from $115.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, November 21st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Mizuho set a $125.00 price target on Walmart and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Thirty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.37.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.91, for a total transaction of $1,508,193.75. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 733,841 shares in the company, valued at $84,325,669.31. This represents a 1.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Donna Morris sold 9,384 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.19, for a total transaction of $1,127,862.96. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 536,312 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $64,459,339.28. This trade represents a 1.72% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 135,215 shares of company stock valued at $15,304,608 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Up 1.5%

WMT stock opened at $119.14 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $949.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.66, a P/E/G ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.24. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $79.81 and a 1-year high of $121.62. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $114.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $106.03.

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

Walmart Company 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.