New York Life Investment Management LLC Increases Holdings in Walmart Inc. $WMT

New York Life Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 596,183 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,171 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $61,443,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. CWM LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 24.2% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,175,703 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $121,168,000 after buying an additional 229,220 shares during the period. Neuberger Berman Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 5,091,126 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $497,771,000 after acquiring an additional 42,645 shares during the period. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 16.6% in the 3rd quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 63,782 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,567,000 after acquiring an additional 9,061 shares during the last quarter. Aviva PLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 16.4% during the 2nd quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 3,833,720 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $374,861,000 after purchasing an additional 539,504 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors increased its holdings in Walmart by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 293,866 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $30,286,000 after purchasing an additional 14,487 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Donna Morris sold 76,181 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.79, for a total value of $9,430,445.99. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 402,072 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,772,492.88. This trade represents a 15.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total value of $2,313,804.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 4,274,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $509,434,589.52. This trade represents a 0.45% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 229,196 shares of company stock worth $26,957,858 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT stock opened at $131.18 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $116.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market cap of $1.05 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.87, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.65. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $79.81 and a fifty-two week high of $131.70.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.31% and a net margin of 3.26%.The business had revenue of $179.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $175.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.58 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Walmart has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.580-2.630 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Key Headlines Impacting Walmart

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)

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WMT. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Walmart from $110.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 21st. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $119.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. CICC Research began coverage on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, December 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $125.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $129.00 target price (up from $122.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Thirty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.06.

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.