Nordea Investment Management AB Increases Stake in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 5.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,595,263 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 135,347 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB’s holdings in Walmart were worth $289,294,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP purchased a new position in Walmart in the third quarter valued at $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Walmart in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Roble Belko & Company Inc raised its stake in Walmart by 212.6% in the third quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 322 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Growing AI narrative and modest analyst upside: coverage notes that Walmart’s AI investments (supply-chain, store ops) are reshaping its growth story and one valuation model nudged fair value slightly higher to ~$136, supporting longer-term upside. This bolsters bullish investor interest in WMT as a tech-enabled retailer. How Walmart (WMT) Is Rewriting Its Story With AI Hype And Valuation Questions
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst/technical support for defensive retail: coverage from Barron’s highlights Walmart alongside other defensive retail names on both technical and fundamental grounds, which can attract risk-off flows and relative-strength buyers in uncertain markets. Walmart, Ross Stores, and Other ‘Defensive’ Retail Stocks
• Positive Sentiment: Market narrative that Walmart is an AI play: features arguing Walmart (and Target) are meaningful AI plays could lift investor conviction around margin improvement and efficiency gains over time. Forget Chipmakers: Walmart and Target Are the Real AI Plays
• Neutral Sentiment: Higher-than-usual call buying: intraday activity showed a ~42% increase in call option volume, which signals bullish positioning but could be speculative or short-term. Watch whether this leads to sustained buying or just short-term gamma flow.
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO transition focus: commentary on managing and positioning around CEO transitions notes both risk and opportunity — transitions can create volatility but also potential strategic shifts. Investors should watch messaging and execution from leadership. How to Play 3 Major CEO Transitions in Early 2026 (WMT)
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling by CEO: CEO John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares (~1.87% reduction in his position) in a disclosed SEC filing — insider sales can be interpreted negatively by some investors even if part of routine diversification. Insider Sale SEC Filing

Walmart Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of NASDAQ WMT opened at $119.02 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $124.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $112.95. The stock has a market cap of $948.88 billion, a PE ratio of 43.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.43 and a beta of 0.66. 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 52-week low of $79.81 and a 52-week high of $134.69.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The retailer reported $0.74 EPS 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 company had revenue of $190.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $188.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.66 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue 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. Equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 11th will be issued a $0.2475 dividend. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 11th. Walmart’s payout ratio is presently 36.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WMT. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, January 18th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $134.00 price objective (up from $129.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and set a $145.00 price objective (up from $128.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $135.76.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 34,082 shares of Walmart 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 533,466 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,082,852. The trade was a 6.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $509,780,812.39. The trade was a 0.48% 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 worth $33,605,809 over the last 90 days. Company 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.