Candriam S.C.A. Grows Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. $WMT

Candriam S.C.A. boosted its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 0.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 716,269 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,324 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $73,819,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WMT. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 1.0% during the third quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,926 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,023,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 1.1% during the second quarter. Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 8,707 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $851,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,804 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $470,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management lifted its stake in Walmart by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 5,695 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $586,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boomfish Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Boomfish Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,701 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $381,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $130.00 target price (up from $120.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, December 19th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 target price (up from $115.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Mizuho set a $125.00 target price on shares of Walmart and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 price target (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Thirty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 727,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $87,251,328.45. This trade represents a 1.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.27, for a total value of $2,445,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 506,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,962,034.28. This represents a 3.80% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 229,196 shares of company stock worth $26,957,858 over the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Walmart Stock Up 3.3%

Shares of WMT opened at $131.18 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $1.05 trillion, a PE ratio of 45.87, a P/E/G ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.65. The business has a fifty day moving average of $116.44 and a 200 day moving average of $107.23. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $79.81 and a 52-week high of $131.70. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 20th. The retailer reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $179.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $175.15 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 3.26% and a return on equity of 21.31%. The business’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.58 earnings per share. Walmart has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.580-2.630 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart joined the trillion‑dollar market‑cap club, boosting investor confidence that its investments in e‑commerce, tech and higher‑margin services are being rewarded. Walmart Trillion-Dollar Club (Fool)
• Positive Sentiment: Evidence of accelerating Walmart+ paid‑membership adoption supports a path to more recurring, higher‑margin revenue — a key part of the bull thesis. Walmart paid membership growth (Seeking Alpha)
• Positive Sentiment: Large institutional buying (e.g., Alecta boosting its stake) is a vote of confidence from some money managers and can support the stock at higher levels. Alecta boosts stake in Walmart (TipRanks)
• Positive Sentiment: Retail commentator Tim Bohen flagged Walmart among his “Big 3” long‑term AI/retail ideas, reinforcing positive retail investor narratives. The Big 3: BE, WMT, XPO (YouTube)
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage is tilted positive but consensus targets are near current prices; recent quarterly results beat estimates and FY‑26 EPS guidance is modest — upside now depends on continued execution. Zacks: Earnings ESP for retailers
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling (EVP Donna Morris and others disclosed multi‑million dollar stock sales this week) can create short‑term selling pressure or be read as executives monetizing gains. Walmart insider selling (InsiderTrades)
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive risk from Amazon’s physical grocery/fulfillment push and Walmart’s elevated multiples mean any slowdown in sales or margin mix could trigger a pullback. Amazon grocery competition (Reuters)

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.