National Bank of Canada FI Raises Position in Walmart Inc. $WMT

National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,033,859 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 177,672 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Walmart were worth $415,697,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Walmart in the second quarter worth $5,367,770,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 9,648.7% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,486,374 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,123,138,000 after buying an additional 11,368,549 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 188.1% during 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. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Walmart by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 431,817,510 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,223,116,000 after buying an additional 5,856,468 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi grew its position in shares of Walmart by 20.5% in the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 23,497,921 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,413,236,000 after buying an additional 4,004,277 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Donna Morris sold 76,181 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.79, for a total value of $9,430,445.99. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 402,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,772,492.88. This represents a 15.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.91, for a total value of $1,508,193.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 733,841 shares in the company, valued at approximately $84,325,669.31. This represents a 1.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 278,278 shares of company stock worth $33,974,118 over the last 90 days. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart’s international segment showed solid momentum in Q4 fiscal 2026: 7.5% sales growth and a 17% e‑commerce increase, supporting top‑line resilience outside the U.S. — this underpins revenue diversification and e‑commerce penetration. Walmart’s International Business Shows Strength: Momentum Ahead?
• Positive Sentiment: Flipkart (Walmart’s India e‑commerce arm) moved its holding company from Singapore to India to clear the path for an Indian listing — a potential value‑realization event that could unlock shareholder value if the IPO proceeds on favorable terms. Walmart’s (WMT) Indian E-Commerce Firm Flipkart Shifts Holding Company to India from Singapore, Reuters Reports
• Positive Sentiment: Analysis highlights Walmart as a frontrunner in applying AI across forecasting, inventory and logistics — AI gains can expand margins, lower shrink/labor costs and boost e‑commerce economics, supporting longer‑term EPS upside. This tech narrative also reinforces Walmart’s re‑rating since shifting to Nasdaq. The AI Checkout Line: The Hidden Tech Play in Your Cart
• Neutral Sentiment: Walmart goes ex‑dividend March 20 with a boosted payout; dividends support income investors, but commentary questioning payout safety could prompt short‑term caution among yield‑focused holders. Event risk centers on timing and perception rather than fundamentals. Walmart Is About to Pay a Boosted Dividend, but Is It Actually Safe?
• Neutral Sentiment: Continued media mentions of Walmart as a long‑term retail pick, and as a recent stock‑split candidate/recipient in marketroundups, help retail interest and SEO visibility but are unlikely to move fundamentals materially. The Best 4 Retail Stocks to Buy and Hold for Decades
• Neutral Sentiment: Smaller merchandising news (vendors adding products to Walmart shelves) is positive for assortment but unlikely to affect the stock; such items support the retail moat incrementally. HTVRONT Expands Walmart Retail Presence with Two New Heat Press Machines
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation comparisons to peers (e.g., J. Sainsbury) and retail rankings offer context for investors but don’t change Walmart’s core growth drivers; useful for relative allocation decisions. JSAIY vs. WMT: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WMT. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 18th. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $145.00 price objective (up from $128.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 13th. Tigress Financial set a $150.00 target price on shares of Walmart and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Craig Hallum set a $150.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price target on Walmart from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Walmart has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $135.76.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $125.99 on Tuesday. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $79.81 and a 1 year high of $134.69. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $123.43 and its 200 day moving average is $112.27. The stock has a market cap of $1.00 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.98, a PEG ratio of 4.71 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.24.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The retailer reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $190.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $188.37 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 3.07% and a return on equity of 21.44%. Walmart’s revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business 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. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Investors of record on Friday, December 11th will be given a dividend of $0.2475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 11th. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.31%.

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.