Walmart Inc. $WMT Shares Sold by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lowered its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 62.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 800,955 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,310,328 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $89,234,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Park Place Capital Corp boosted its stake in Walmart by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 23,452 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,613,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co. increased its position in shares of Walmart by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 99,593 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $11,096,000 after purchasing an additional 5,221 shares during the last quarter. McCollum Christoferson Group LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 21.5% in the 4th quarter. McCollum Christoferson Group LLC now owns 2,541 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $283,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Peterson Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Peterson Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,884 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,101,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Montecito Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust now owns 21,488 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,394,000 after purchasing an additional 539 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart’s ad business surged ~37% in Q4, which boosts higher-margin revenue and could improve overall profitability going forward. Walmart’s Ad Business Jumps 37%: Margin Upside Ahead?
• Positive Sentiment: Recent quarterly results beat consensus (EPS and revenue) and management set FY2027 EPS guidance (2.75–2.85), supporting the view that Walmart’s core retail performance and membership/ads mix are improving.
• Positive Sentiment: New national product distribution deals (example: Zep cleaning products now carried nationwide at Walmart) show ongoing assortment and supplier momentum that can drive traffic and category share. Zep Expands Home Pro Distribution at Walmart
• Neutral Sentiment: Technical/market commentary is highlighting Walmart as a buy point amid broader market weakness — useful for momentum traders but less material to fundamentals. Dow Jones discount retailer Walmart offers latest buy point amid market weakness
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry logistics moves — FedEx launching same‑day options as retailers (including Walmart) race to speed up delivery — are an operational/competitive factor to watch but not an immediate earnings shock. FedEx launches same-day delivery with OneRail
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest reports in the feed show zero or data anomalies (0 shares / NaN increases) and a days-to-cover of 0.0 — not currently informative for sentiment.
• Negative Sentiment: A plaintiffs’ law firm is investigating Walmart’s board for possible breach of fiduciary duty related to alleged deceptive pay practices for Spark drivers — a governance/legal risk that could lead to litigation or reputational costs. Berger Montague PC Investigates Walmart Board for Breach of Fiduciary Duty
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: the CEO reported selling roughly $1.6M of WMT stock — a signal some investors watch closely even though sales can be routine. Walmart CEO Sells $1,600,725.00 in Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst commentary questioning Walmart’s “all-weather” defensive status suggests valuation and crowding risks for investors who expect steady downside protection; this is a cautionary view on medium-term upside. Walmart: All-Weather Status Ironically Creates Risk For Investors

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 34,082 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.00, for a total transaction of $4,158,004.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 533,466 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,082,852. This trade represents a 6.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.96, for a total value of $1,600,725.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 687,287 shares in the company, valued at approximately $83,821,522.52. This trade represents a 1.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 274,278 shares of company stock valued at $33,605,809 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on WMT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $138.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Bank of America started coverage on Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $150.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group set a $145.00 target price on Walmart in a report on Friday, February 20th. Craig Hallum set a $150.00 target price on Walmart in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $145.00 price target (up from $136.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $135.76.

Walmart Trading Up 1.1%

NASDAQ:WMT opened at $122.05 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $973.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.54, a PEG ratio of 4.50 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. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $79.81 and a 1 year high of $134.69. The business has a fifty day moving average of $124.17 and a 200-day moving average of $113.24.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The retailer reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.01. Walmart had a net margin of 3.07% and a return on equity of 21.44%. The firm had revenue of $190.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $188.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.66 EPS. Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Walmart has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.750-2.850 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 0.610-0.610 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Investors of record on Friday, December 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.2475 per share. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 11th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.13%.

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.