Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) EVP Daniel Bartlett Sells 1,255 Shares

Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) EVP Daniel Bartlett sold 1,255 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.21, for a total value of $167,178.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 586,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $78,104,886.09. This represents a 0.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of Walmart stock traded down $3.28 during trading on Friday, reaching $121.59. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 17,285,565 shares, compared to its average volume of 38,788,746. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $79.81 and a 52 week high of $134.69. The firm has a market cap of $969.06 billion, a PE ratio of 42.52, a P/E/G ratio of 4.99 and a beta of 0.65. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $119.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $109.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The retailer reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $190.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $188.37 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.31% and a net margin of 3.26%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.66 earnings per share. 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 forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Investors 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 yield of 0.8%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.87%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Renaissance Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Group LLC now owns 9,636 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,074,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Calton & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in Walmart by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Calton & Associates Inc. now owns 27,220 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,033,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Advocacy Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Walmart by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Advocacy Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,392 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $378,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Walmart by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,561 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $285,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capstone Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Capstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,955 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $552,000 after buying an additional 89 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 is leaning into AI and automation that management says is already boosting productivity and e‑commerce growth — a thematic bullish story for long‑term margin and market‑share upside. The future of retail is AI
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts are raising targets and reiterating buy/outperform calls (Telsey to $140, BTIG reaffirmed buy), supporting upside expectations and providing near‑term demand for shares. Telsey raises target
• Positive Sentiment: Board raised shareholder returns — Walmart increased the annual dividend (to $0.99) and authorized a fresh buyback ($30B reported elsewhere), which underpins cash‑return support for the stock. Dividend increase press release
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional buying and technicals: coverage shows increased institutional accumulation and technical analysts highlight a pullback to the $120–$110 area as a buying opportunity — this can stabilize downside but may not spark immediate rallies. MarketBeat buy thesis
• Neutral Sentiment: An executive sold a modest block of shares (Form 4 disclosure); size is small relative to insider holdings and typical for diversification/liquidity, so limited signal. SEC filing
• Negative Sentiment: Guidance disappointed: Walmart beat Q4 results (EPS $0.74, revenue $190.7B) but set FY27 EPS and Q1 guidance below Street consensus, and management used cautious language — the guidance miss is the primary driver of the pullback. Q4 press release / slides
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation concerns and bearish takes: some commentators argue improved operating income growth doesn’t justify current multiples (calls to hold/sell), adding selling pressure among valuation‑sensitive investors. Seeking Alpha valuation critique
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive symbolism: Amazon overtook Walmart in annual revenue — largely symbolic but it reinforces competitive narrative and investor focus on market position and growth initiatives. Amazon surpasses Walmart

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on WMT. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $138.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $147.00 target price (up from $135.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $120.00 target price on Walmart in a report on Friday. Argus upgraded Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $150.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $132.15.

About Walmart

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.