Financial & Tax Architects LLC Cuts Position in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Financial & Tax Architects LLC decreased its stake in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 9.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 71,868 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 7,182 shares during the period. Walmart makes up 2.0% of Financial & Tax Architects LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Financial & Tax Architects LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $8,932,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $6,458,529,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 188.1% in the 3rd 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. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 6.8% in 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 during the period. Capital International Investors purchased a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $592,848,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Walmart by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 439,957,146 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $49,015,626,000 after purchasing an additional 4,304,436 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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: Unusual options activity showed strong bullish interest, with traders buying 172,007 WMT call options, well above the normal daily level, suggesting some investors are positioning for a rebound.
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and commentators highlighted Walmart Connect as a growing margin driver, supported by ad growth, marketplace expansion, seller spending, and e-commerce gains.
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart’s push into agentic shopping with Google’s Gemini and broader AI-enabled commerce is being viewed as a potential long-term catalyst for sales and ecosystem growth. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart and Flipkart are preparing to expand quick-commerce capabilities in India, which could strengthen Walmart’s international digital growth story. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Walmart was mentioned in coverage of Medicare obesity-drug coverage, where the company is helping seniors navigate benefits; this is supportive of its health-services positioning but is not a major near-term earnings driver. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Research notes and trading commentary said U.S. comparable sales may be slowing, with investors worried Walmart has leaned on price cuts and tariff refunds to manage inventory, potentially pressuring margins. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Shares also came under pressure after reports highlighted slowing domestic sales growth and a near eight-month low, reinforcing concerns about near-term fundamental momentum. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 3,775 shares in a pre-arranged 10b5-1 transaction, which is typically routine but can still add a small amount of selling pressure sentiment-wise.

Walmart Stock Performance

NASDAQ WMT opened at $111.84 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $94.23 and a fifty-two week high of $135.15. The stock has a market cap of $890.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.60. The business has a fifty day moving average of $122.52 and a 200-day moving average of $122.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66. The business had revenue of $177.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $174.84 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.25% and a net margin of 3.13%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.61 earnings per share. Walmart has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.750-2.850 EPS and its Q2 2027 guidance at 0.720-0.740 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on WMT. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their target price on Walmart from $147.00 to $146.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Erste Group Bank downgraded Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective (up from $145.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Evercore restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, May 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $138.85.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, CEO John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.84, for a total transaction of $1,638,525.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 674,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $84,162,384.08. This trade represents a 1.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Latriece Watkins sold 11,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.97, for a total transaction of $1,308,670.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 120,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,300,550.91. This trade represents a 8.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 104,505 shares of company stock worth $12,858,514 in the last 90 days. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Walmart

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.