(NYSE: WMT) is one of the largest, most widely followed stocks on the market, yet it still manages to surprise Wall Street from time to time. Investors got an example of this when the retailer posted its Q4 earnings results in late February. That report showed some encouraging signs around growth combined with robust profit gains. Walmart also announced an unusually large dividend increase for 2024.

The report didn't dramatically shift the investing narrative around this established market leader. But there are some important things for investors to know about Walmart and its brand-new dividend payment.

Many national retailers, including Home Depot and Target, offer solid dividends and have boosted these payouts despite weakening sales trends. Home Depot, for example, just reported a second straight year of customer traffic declines even as it hiked its 2024 dividend by 8%. Walmart's dividend boost stands out as being covered by more impressive growth.

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Source Fool.com