TD Asset Management Inc Raises Holdings in Walmart Inc. $WMT

TD Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,618,389 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 109,821 shares during the quarter. TD Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Walmart were worth $269,851,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Access Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Roble Belko & Company Inc boosted its position in Walmart by 212.6% during the third quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 322 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

More Walmart News

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Large buyback authorized — Walmart approved a new US$30 billion repurchase plan (and recently completed ~US$16.14B), which supports EPS accretion and signals capital‑return focus. How Investors May Respond To Walmart E-commerce Strength And New US$30 Billion Buyback Plan
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and price‑target lifts — multiple firms (TD Cowen, Telsey, Jefferies and others) raised targets and reiterated Buy/Outperform ratings, boosting sentiment and supporting near‑term upside expectations. TD Cowen Raises Walmart (WMT) Price Target to $145 from $136
• Positive Sentiment: Earnings beat and guidance underpin momentum — Walmart beat Q results (EPS and revenue), set FY27 guidance, raised the dividend to $0.99 annualized and highlighted execution that is lifting margins/returns. Analysts are re‑rating based on this combined print. Assessing Walmart’s (WMT) Valuation After Earnings Beat Buyback Plan Dividend Hike And Tech Investments
• Positive Sentiment: Operational strength — U.S. segment delivered ~4.6% comp sales, and Walmart hit a record U.S. grocery penetration (~72%), driven by grocery traffic and higher e‑commerce mix — factors that support durable sales and margin upside. Walmart hits its highest U.S. grocery penetration rate ever
• Neutral Sentiment: Peer/valuation context — Coverage comparing Walmart to Costco and Dollar General highlights different business models (membership vs. mass-market) and shows WMT’s premium multiple vs. some peers; useful for relative valuation but not an immediate price driver. Best Consumer Stock to Buy Right Now: Costco or Walmart?
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling — Several senior executives (including CEO John Furner and multiple EVPs) disclosed sizable stock sales this week; although often for personal/tax reasons, such sales can create short‑term sentiment headwinds. Filings: CEO Form 4 • EVP Christopher Nicholas Form 4 • EVP Latriece Watkins Form 4
• Negative Sentiment: Macro/labor caution — Walmart flagged a potential “hiring recession” context; weaker labor or consumer income dynamics could pressure discretionary spending and margins over time. Walmart Warns of “Hiring Recession”

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.83, for a total transaction of $2,171,291.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,315,333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $482,583,689.39. This represents a 0.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Donna Morris sold 76,181 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.79, for a total value of $9,430,445.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 402,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,772,492.88. This trade represents a 15.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 261,903 shares of company stock worth $31,496,959. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Walmart from $110.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 21st. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 target price (up from $115.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective (up from $125.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Argus upgraded shares of Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $138.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.21.

Walmart Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ WMT opened at $126.75 on Wednesday. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $79.81 and a 12-month high of $134.69. The company has a market cap of $1.01 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.02 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $119.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $109.69.

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

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 11th will be given a dividend of $0.2475 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 11th. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Walmart’s payout ratio is currently 34.31%.

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.