ProShare Advisors LLC Increases Stake in Walmart Inc. $WMT

ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,574,393 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 49,027 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up approximately 0.6% of ProShare Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $265,317,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 1.0% during the third quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,926 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,023,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 1.1% in the second quarter. Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 8,707 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $851,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,804 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $470,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Hemington Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Walmart by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 5,695 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $586,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boomfish Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Boomfish Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,701 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $381,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart joined the trillion‑dollar market‑cap club, boosting investor confidence that its investments in e‑commerce, tech and higher‑margin services are being rewarded. Walmart Trillion-Dollar Club (Fool)
• Positive Sentiment: Evidence of accelerating Walmart+ paid‑membership adoption supports a path to more recurring, higher‑margin revenue — a key part of the bull thesis. Walmart paid membership growth (Seeking Alpha)
• Positive Sentiment: Large institutional buying (e.g., Alecta boosting its stake) is a vote of confidence from some money managers and can support the stock at higher levels. Alecta boosts stake in Walmart (TipRanks)
• Positive Sentiment: Retail commentator Tim Bohen flagged Walmart among his “Big 3” long‑term AI/retail ideas, reinforcing positive retail investor narratives. The Big 3: BE, WMT, XPO (YouTube)
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage is tilted positive but consensus targets are near current prices; recent quarterly results beat estimates and FY‑26 EPS guidance is modest — upside now depends on continued execution. Zacks: Earnings ESP for retailers
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling (EVP Donna Morris and others disclosed multi‑million dollar stock sales this week) can create short‑term selling pressure or be read as executives monetizing gains. Walmart insider selling (InsiderTrades)
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive risk from Amazon’s physical grocery/fulfillment push and Walmart’s elevated multiples mean any slowdown in sales or margin mix could trigger a pullback. Amazon grocery competition (Reuters)

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.99, for a total value of $1,574,868.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 727,155 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,251,328.45. The trade was a 1.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total transaction of $2,313,804.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,274,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $509,434,589.52. This trade represents a 0.45% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 229,196 shares of company stock worth $26,957,858 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WMT shares. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Walmart from $110.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 21st. 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 objective for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $129.00 target price (up from $122.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, January 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $121.00 price target on shares of Walmart and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $125.00 price objective (up previously from $108.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Thirty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Walmart has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $125.06.

Walmart Stock Performance

NASDAQ WMT opened at $131.18 on Monday. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $79.81 and a 52-week high of $131.70. The company has a fifty day moving average of $116.44 and a 200-day moving average of $107.23. The company has a market capitalization of $1.05 trillion, a P/E ratio of 45.87, a P/E/G ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.65. 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 (NASDAQ:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The retailer reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.31% and a net margin of 3.26%.The business had revenue of $179.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $175.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.58 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Walmart has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.580-2.630 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal 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.