Candriam S.C.A. Grows Stock Position in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Candriam S.C.A. boosted its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 716,269 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,324 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $73,819,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WMT. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 24.2% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,175,703 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $121,168,000 after buying an additional 229,220 shares during the period. Neuberger Berman Group LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 0.8% during the second quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 5,091,126 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $497,771,000 after acquiring an additional 42,645 shares in the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. grew its holdings in Walmart by 16.6% in the third quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 63,782 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,567,000 after purchasing an additional 9,061 shares during the period. Aviva PLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 16.4% during the second quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 3,833,720 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $374,861,000 after purchasing an additional 539,504 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 5.2% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 293,866 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $30,286,000 after purchasing an additional 14,487 shares during the last quarter. 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: 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)

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WMT opened at $131.18 on Monday. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $79.81 and a 12-month high of $131.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.05 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $116.44 and a 200 day moving average of $107.23.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Walmart from $128.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 21st. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $128.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and set a $147.00 price objective (up from $120.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Thirty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $125.06.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 7,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.65, for a total transaction of $746,550.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,535,221.85. The trade was a 4.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.27, for a total value of $2,445,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 506,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,962,034.28. This trade represents a 3.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 229,196 shares of company stock valued at $26,957,858 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.