Key Points
- EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 34,082 Walmart shares at an average price of $122 on Feb. 20 for about $4.16 million, trimming his stake by 6.01% to 533,466 shares valued near $65.08 million.
- Walmart beat expectations for the quarter with $0.74 EPS vs. $0.73 consensus and $190.66 billion in revenue vs. $188.37 billion estimates, and set FY2027 guidance of roughly $2.75–$2.85 EPS.
- The stock backdrop is mixed: management authorized a share buyback and analysts lifted price targets (consensus "Moderate Buy," average target $132.53), but multiple senior executives — including the CEO and two EVPs — disclosed sizable sales this week, which could pressure sentiment.
Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT - Get Free Report) EVP Latriece Watkins sold 10,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.46, for a total value of $1,214,600.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 108,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,153,389.24. The trade was a 8.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.
Walmart Trading Up 2.3%
NASDAQ WMT opened at $125.81 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $119.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $109.53. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $79.81 and a 12 month high of $134.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.00 trillion, a P/E ratio of 45.92, a PEG ratio of 4.97 and a beta of 0.65.
Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The retailer reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $190.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $188.37 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 3.07% and a return on equity of 21.44%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.66 EPS. Walmart has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.750-2.850 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 0.610-0.610 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Walmart Dividend Announcement
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 11th will be paid a $0.2475 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 11th. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Walmart's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.31%.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,458,529,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 9,648.7% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,486,374 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,123,138,000 after buying an additional 11,368,549 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 188.1% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,663,172 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,199,907,000 after buying an additional 7,614,172 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 103,010,709 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $11,426,753,000 after acquiring an additional 6,517,394 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 1.4% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 431,817,510 shares of the retailer's stock worth $42,223,116,000 after acquiring an additional 5,856,468 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.
Walmart News Roundup
Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Company-level catalyst — Walmart announced a new share-buyback alongside other large firms; buyback authorizations boost EPS potential and reduce share count over time. 3 Major Buybacks Just Dropped—Here’s the Signal Investors See
- Positive Sentiment: Analyst support — Telsey raised its WMT target to $140 and kept an Outperform rating; BTIG reiterated a Buy and price-target lift headlines reinforce upside expectations. Telsey Advisory Sees Walmart Strengthening Position • BTIG Reiterates Buy
- Positive Sentiment: Fundamentals — Walmart’s U.S. segment delivered ~4.6% comp growth (grocery traffic + e‑commerce strength), supporting FY27 outlook and the recent earnings beat that investors cheered. WMT's U.S. Segment Momentum
- Positive Sentiment: Market share/consumer trends — A dunnhumby tracker shows Walmart’s U.S. household penetration rising (reported at ~72%), evidence of resilient demand and pricing/affordability positioning versus traditional grocers. Walmart, Dollar Stores Beat Traditional Grocers' Reach
- Neutral Sentiment: Street commentary — Additional analyst notes and bank commentary (Erste Group) provide perspective on FY outlook but don’t materially change consensus; they keep focus on execution and margin trends. Erste Group Bank Comments on Walmart FY2028 Earnings
- Negative Sentiment: Insider selling — Multiple senior executives (CEO John Furner and two EVPs) disclosed sizable stock sales this week, which can create short‑term sentiment pressure even if sales are often for diversification or tax reasons. SEC filings: CEO Form 4, EVP Christopher Nicholas Form 4, EVP Latriece Watkins Form 4
- Negative Sentiment: Macro/headline risk — Walmart flagged labor-market nuances and mentioned a “hiring recession” context in broader commentary, which could signal consumer fragility ahead and temper cyclically sensitive spending. Walmart Warns of "Hiring Recession"
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
WMT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group upped their target price on Walmart from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $140.00 price objective (up previously from $130.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Argus raised Walmart to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $145.00 target price on Walmart in a research note on Friday. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and set a $140.00 price target (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, February 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $132.53.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on WMT
About Walmart
(
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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.
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