Northern Financial Advisors Inc Reduces Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Northern Financial Advisors Inc lowered its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 42.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 25,679 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 18,733 shares during the quarter. Walmart accounts for 3.3% of Northern Financial Advisors Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Northern Financial Advisors Inc’s holdings in Walmart were worth $2,861,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WMT. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position 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 worth $1,199,907,000 after buying an additional 7,614,172 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 20.5% during the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 23,497,921 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,413,236,000 after purchasing an additional 4,004,277 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 435,652,710 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $44,898,368,000 after purchasing an additional 3,835,200 shares during the last quarter. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $294,621,000. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 1,991.9% during the 2nd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 2,549,719 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $249,312,000 after purchasing an additional 2,427,834 shares during the last quarter. 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 announced a new business unit, Upstream Facility Services, to sell maintenance services to other businesses — a push to monetize logistics/operations expertise beyond retail that could add recurring revenue and higher-margin service income. Walmart Inc. (WMT) Diversifies Beyond Retail Into Maintenance Services
• Positive Sentiment: Sam’s Club launched a one‑hour delivery option for members, escalating competition with Costco and Amazon on convenience and helping Walmart drive higher basket frequency and membership value. Faster delivery supports digital growth and same‑day monetization. Walmart’s warehouse club ups the pressure on Costco with a new member perk
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its price target on WMT to $140 and keeps an “overweight” rating — a visible buy‑side endorsement that can lift sentiment and flows into the stock. Benzinga analyst note
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart is expanding healthcare/omnichannel offerings (Better Care Services, GLP‑1 support) and integrating pharmacy/virtual care — moves that broaden addressable market and higher‑margin services revenue. Walmart Boosts Growth Playbook With Healthcare, Omnichannel Push
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart is revamping its Great Value private‑label across ~10,000 items and modernizing stores and delivery staging — initiatives aimed at margin improvement, stronger value perception and better e‑commerce fulfillment. Walmart Revamps ‘Great Value’ Brand as Shoppers Shift to Lower-Priced Options
• Neutral Sentiment: WMT is a frequently trending stock and subject of value/peer comparisons (e.g., Carrefour) and analyst roundup pieces — useful for sentiment tracking but not immediate catalysts. CRRFY vs. WMT: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?
• Neutral Sentiment: Partnerships like the Back to the Roots soil‑health product at Walmart are positive for brand and CSR but represent a modest direct financial impact. Back to the Roots Scales Regenerative Movement Nationwide
• Negative Sentiment: A California court complaint alleges Amazon coerced vendors to pressure retailers like Walmart into raising prices — if investigations expand, it could create regulatory scrutiny or supplier dynamics that indirectly affect Walmart’s pricing and relationships. California says Amazon coerced companies into illegally raising prices

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and set a $138.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $125.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and set a $145.00 price target (up from $128.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $120.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $137.79.

Walmart Stock Up 0.3%

Walmart stock opened at $129.98 on Thursday. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $91.89 and a 1-year high of $134.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.04 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.44, a P/E/G ratio of 4.83 and a beta of 0.66. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $125.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $116.53.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The retailer reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $190.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $188.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.66 EPS. Walmart’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. On average, analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Donna Morris sold 76,181 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 402,072 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,772,492.88. The trade was a 15.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.96, for a total transaction of $1,600,725.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 687,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $83,821,522.52. This represents a 1.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 243,960 shares of company stock worth $30,284,661 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Walmart 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.