Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) Stock Price Up 1.5% – Time to Buy?

Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT)’s stock price shot up 1.5% on Friday . The company traded as high as $119.41 and last traded at $119.14. 21,580,465 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 52% from the average session volume of 45,415,586 shares. The stock had previously closed at $117.41.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $126.00 price objective (up previously from $123.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $110.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Finally, KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $128.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Thirty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.37.

Walmart Stock Up 1.5%

The stock has a market cap of $949.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.97 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $114.20 and its 200-day moving average is $105.79.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 20th. The retailer reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 3.26% and a return on equity of 21.31%. The business had revenue of $179.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $175.15 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.58 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Walmart has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.580-2.630 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 4,274,856 shares in the company, valued at $509,434,589.52. This trade represents a 0.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel Danker sold 4,365 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.19, for a total value of $524,629.35. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 238,583 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,675,290.77. The trade was a 1.80% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 135,215 shares of company stock worth $15,304,608. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 439,957,146 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $49,015,626,000 after buying an additional 4,304,436 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 184,805,978 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $19,046,104,000 after acquiring an additional 2,242,364 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.3% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 94,557,532 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $9,199,712,000 after buying an additional 263,718 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 2nd quarter worth $5,367,770,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 40,298,623 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,153,176,000 after buying an additional 634,211 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.