Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) EVP Christopher James Nicholas Sells 34,082 Shares

Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 34,082 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.00, for a total value of $4,158,004.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 533,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,082,852. This represents a 6.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WMT opened at $125.81 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $119.55 and a 200-day moving average of $109.53. 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 twelve month low of $79.81 and a twelve month high of $134.69. The firm has a market cap of $1.00 trillion, a PE ratio of 45.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.97 and a beta of 0.65.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The retailer reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $188.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.66 EPS. The company’s 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. On average, equities research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 11th will be issued 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 yield of 0.8%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.31%.

Key Walmart News

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Company-level catalyst — Walmart announced a new share-buyback alongside other large firms; buyback authorizations boost EPS potential and reduce share count over time. 3 Major Buybacks Just Dropped—Here’s the Signal Investors See
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support — Telsey raised its WMT target to $140 and kept an Outperform rating; BTIG reiterated a Buy and price-target lift headlines reinforce upside expectations. Telsey Advisory Sees Walmart Strengthening Position • BTIG Reiterates Buy
• Positive Sentiment: Fundamentals — Walmart’s U.S. segment delivered ~4.6% comp growth (grocery traffic + e‑commerce strength), supporting FY27 outlook and the recent earnings beat that investors cheered. WMT’s U.S. Segment Momentum
• Positive Sentiment: Market share/consumer trends — A dunnhumby tracker shows Walmart’s U.S. household penetration rising (reported at ~72%), evidence of resilient demand and pricing/affordability positioning versus traditional grocers. Walmart, Dollar Stores Beat Traditional Grocers’ Reach
• Neutral Sentiment: Street commentary — Additional analyst notes and bank commentary (Erste Group) provide perspective on FY outlook but don’t materially change consensus; they keep focus on execution and margin trends. Erste Group Bank Comments on Walmart FY2028 Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling — Multiple senior executives (CEO John Furner and two EVPs) disclosed sizable stock sales this week, which can create short‑term sentiment pressure even if sales are often for diversification or tax reasons. SEC filings: CEO Form 4, EVP Christopher Nicholas Form 4, EVP Latriece Watkins Form 4
• Negative Sentiment: Macro/headline risk — Walmart flagged labor-market nuances and mentioned a “hiring recession” context in broader commentary, which could signal consumer fragility ahead and temper cyclically sensitive spending. Walmart Warns of “Hiring Recession”

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Argus upgraded shares of Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. CICC Research started coverage on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, December 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $125.00 price target for the company. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $125.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $145.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $132.53.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WMT. Norges Bank bought a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $6,458,529,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 9,648.7% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,486,374 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,123,138,000 after purchasing an additional 11,368,549 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 7,614,172 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 103,010,709 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $11,426,753,000 after purchasing an additional 6,517,394 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Walmart by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 431,817,510 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,223,116,000 after purchasing an additional 5,856,468 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% 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.