AIA Group Ltd Grows Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. $WMT

AIA Group Ltd grew its stake in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 64.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 111,503 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 43,767 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Walmart were worth $11,491,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 28.8% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 98,150 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,868,000 after purchasing an additional 21,939 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Walmart by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,849 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $800,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Peterson Wealth Management raised its stake in Walmart by 3.5% during the first quarter. Peterson Wealth Management now owns 50,307 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,416,000 after purchasing an additional 1,715 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 13,008 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,272,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its holdings in Walmart by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 91,341 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,931,000 after purchasing an additional 1,048 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Key Walmart News

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Unusual bullish options activity — traders bought ~169,565 WMT call contracts (≈+42% vs. typical daily call volume), signaling short‑term bullish bets that can support upside if sentiment continues.
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart is being highlighted as an AI investment play—articles argue AI deployments across supply chain and pricing could raise efficiency and long‑term profitability. Forget Chipmakers: Walmart and Target Are the Real AI Plays
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart secured U.S. machine‑learning patents for pricing systems — a potential competitive edge to optimize margins and pricing strategies. Walmart Secures Machine Learning Patents for Pricing Items
• Positive Sentiment: Marketplace/Dropshipping integration with Doba expands Walmart Marketplace’s seller capabilities and could aid e‑commerce revenue growth. Doba Announces Verified Technical Integration with Walmart Marketplace to Empower Dropshipping Sellers
• Positive Sentiment: Positive analyst/retail commentary — some investors are bullish on Walmart’s expanding e‑commerce and advertising businesses as drivers of future growth. 1 Stock I Plan to Load Up On in 2026
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO transition coverage — analysis of managing leadership change notes both downside risk and opportunity; impact depends on specifics and investor reaction over time. How to Play 3 Major CEO Transitions in Early 2026 (WMT)
• Neutral Sentiment: PhonePe IPO pause — Walmart‑backed PhonePe delaying IPO due to market volatility is a timing risk for potential value realization, but not an immediate operational hit to Walmart. Walmart-backed PhonePe pauses IPO plans as Middle East conflict fuels market volatility
• Negative Sentiment: Shareholder law firm is investigating Walmart’s board over alleged deceptive pay practices for Spark drivers — potential legal, financial and governance risks that can weigh on sentiment and create downside risk. Berger Montague PC Investigates Walmart Inc.’s Board of Directors for Breach of Fiduciary Duty (NASDAQ: WMT)

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 34,082 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.00, for a total value of $4,158,004.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 533,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,082,852. The trade was a 6.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director directly owned 4,023,209 shares in the company, valued at $509,780,812.39. The trade was a 0.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 261,153 shares of company stock worth $32,005,084 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $121.08 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $79.81 and a 1 year high of $134.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $965.30 billion, a PE ratio of 44.19, a PEG ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.79. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $123.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $112.59.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last announced 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 for 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%. The company’s revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. 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. On average, analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on WMT shares. DA Davidson set a $150.00 price target on shares of Walmart and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Argus upgraded Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Bank of America started coverage on Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $150.00 target price for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $120.00 target price on Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $135.00 target price (up from $125.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $135.76.

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.