Walmart Inc. $WMT is Becker Capital Management Inc.’s 10th Largest Position

Becker Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 641,141 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 26,144 shares during the period. Walmart makes up about 1.9% of Becker Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Becker Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $66,076,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in Walmart during the third quarter valued at about $1,709,000. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 24.2% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,175,703 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $121,168,000 after buying an additional 229,220 shares during the last quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 5,091,126 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $497,771,000 after buying an additional 42,645 shares in the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. grew its position in shares of Walmart by 16.6% in the 3rd quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 63,782 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,567,000 after buying an additional 9,061 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aviva PLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 16.4% in the 2nd quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 3,833,720 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $374,861,000 after buying an additional 539,504 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WMT. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $135.00 target price (up from $125.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 18th. Finally, Tigress Financial set a $150.00 target price on Walmart and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $134.42.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Latriece Watkins sold 10,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.46, for a total transaction of $1,214,600.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 108,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,153,389.24. The trade was a 8.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.71, for a total transaction of $2,460,201.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,023,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $509,780,812.39. This trade represents a 0.48% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 259,703 shares of company stock valued at $31,585,043 in the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America initiated coverage with a “Buy” rating and a $150 price target, signaling materially higher analyst optimism versus the current share level (roughly +17% upside from the cited price).
• Positive Sentiment: Recent quarterly results showed a slight EPS beat (reported $0.74 vs. $0.73 est.) and revenue topped estimates; management issued FY2027 EPS guidance of $2.75–$2.85, supporting multiple expansion and investor confidence.
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart is rolling out its Scintilla In-Store data platform and expanding private/partner brands, moves that reinforce higher-margin adjacencies (ads, marketplace, fulfillment) and long-term e‑commerce/store integration growth. Walmart Supplier Tech And New Brands Reframe Stores As Data Platforms
• Neutral Sentiment: Brokerage consensus remains constructive — a “Moderate Buy” consensus was reported, reflecting institutional buy-side alignment but some variance in targets. Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages
• Neutral Sentiment: Walmart leadership will participate in upcoming investor events and webcasts — provides management access to investors for strategy updates and Q&A, which can influence near-term sentiment. Walmart Leadership to Participate in Upcoming Investor Events
• Negative Sentiment: Walmart agreed to settle FTC claims over Spark driver pay for roughly $100M total, including a $16M payout to drivers over alleged misleading pay/tip claims — a near-term cash hit and reputational/legal overhang, though not material to operating margins long-term at scale. Walmart agrees to $100M settlement over deceptive pay practices in Spark Driver program Walmart agrees to pay $16 million to its Spark delivery drivers to settle claims it misled them over tips and pay

Walmart Stock Up 2.8%

WMT opened at $127.95 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $79.81 and a twelve month high of $134.69. The company has a market cap of $1.02 trillion, a PE ratio of 46.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.03 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $120.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $110.18.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The retailer reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.01. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.44% and a net margin of 3.07%.The business had revenue of $190.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $188.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.66 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Stockholders 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 payout ratio is presently 34.31%.

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.