Bank of Nova Scotia Increases Holdings in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 11.1% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 967,224 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 96,672 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in Walmart were worth $99,682,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Collier Financial purchased a new position in Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Roble Belko & Company Inc boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 219 shares during the period. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Walmart during the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart reported continued digital strength: eCommerce grew ~24% in the fiscal fourth quarter, reinforcing its omnichannel momentum and supporting revenue beat and modest upside to guidance — a clear near-term growth driver. Walmart eCommerce Up 24: Can Digital Momentum Continue?
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and portfolio shops remain constructive: Tigress Financial reiterated a Buy and raised its price target to $150, citing Walmart’s shift toward tech-driven omnichannel operations — a signal of upward analyst sentiment. Tigress Financial Sees Walmart Inc. (WMT) as Tech-Driven Retail Leader
• Positive Sentiment: Flipkart IPO progress (Walmart-backed) remains a potential longer-term upside — an equity event that could unlock value and generate cash/strategic optionality. Walmart-backed Flipkart preps for an IPO as early as this year
• Neutral Sentiment: Schaeffer’s options commentary flagged bullish setups and the possibility of further record highs for WMT — useful for options traders but not a broad fundamental catalyst. Walmart Stock Could Nab More Record Highs
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysis pieces (The Motley Fool) flag that Walmart’s digital push could pay off if fulfillment economics and ROIC improve; it’s strategic upside but execution-dependent. Will Walmart’s Digital Push Pay Off in 2026?
• Neutral Sentiment: Walmart is referenced in pieces about stock splits and retail-focused ETFs — background thematic support but not an immediate catalyst. 3 ETFs That Could Benefit as Consumers Tighten Their Budgets (WMT)
• Negative Sentiment: Geopolitical risk: coverage notes the Iran war and possible Strait of Hormuz disruptions could push supply-chain costs and retail prices higher — a margin and inflation risk for Walmart. How the Iran war could start to impact U.S. retail prices
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and sentiment pressure: commentary (247WallStreet) highlights retail investor criticism of WMT’s ~46x multiple and recent bearish social sentiment, raising the risk of multiple compression if growth disappoints. Reddit’s Loudest Walmart Critics Have a Point About That 46x Multiple

Walmart Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WMT opened at $126.52 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.01 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.18, a PEG ratio of 4.71 and a beta of 0.66. The business has a 50 day moving average of $123.16 and a 200 day moving average of $111.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.24. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $79.81 and a 1-year high of $134.69.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The retailer reported $0.74 EPS 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 analysts’ expectations of $188.37 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 3.07% and a return on equity of 21.44%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $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. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Investors 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 dividend yield of 0.8%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.99, for a total value of $1,574,868.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 727,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $87,251,328.45. The trade was a 1.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.27, for a total transaction of $2,445,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 506,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,962,034.28. The trade was a 3.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 279,703 shares of company stock worth $34,140,843 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WMT. Telsey Advisory Group upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 18th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 price target (up from $115.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, November 21st. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $145.00 price objective (up from $128.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. One equities research 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, Walmart has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $135.76.

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.