Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) Stock Price Up 1.6% Following Analyst Upgrade

Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) shares traded up 1.6% on Thursday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $135.00 to $140.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Walmart traded as high as $132.46 and last traded at $132.03. 16,312,338 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 42% from the average session volume of 28,208,770 shares. The stock had previously closed at $129.98.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on WMT. Jefferies Financial Group set a $145.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $134.00 price objective (up from $129.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Tigress Financial set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Walmart and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $137.79.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.72, for a total value of $361,688.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 596,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $74,334,117.76. This represents a 0.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.16, for a total transaction of $2,391,274.56. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,213,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $518,923,082.96. This trade represents a 0.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 243,960 shares of company stock valued at $30,284,661. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Sell?side analysts collectively rate WMT a “Buy,” reinforcing institutional confidence and supporting the stock. Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) Given Consensus Rating of “Buy” by Analysts
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its price target to $140 and kept an “overweight” rating — a direct bullish signal that can lift investor sentiment and flows. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart launched “Upstream Facility Services,” a new maintenance-services unit to sell services to businesses — a move to diversify revenue beyond retail and leverage Walmart’s scale. Walmart Inc. (WMT) Diversifies Beyond Retail Into Maintenance Services
• Positive Sentiment: Sam’s Club added a one?hour delivery option for members, tightening competition with Costco and enhancing membership value/revenue per member if adoption scales. Walmart’s warehouse club ups the pressure on Costco with a new member perk
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart continues retail partnerships promoting sustainability (Back to the Roots Soil Health set), supporting brand/CSR momentum that can aid customer loyalty. Back to the Roots Scales Regenerative Movement Nationwide; Expanding Pioneering Soil Health Set to Walmart Stores for Year Two
• Neutral Sentiment: Several industry comparisons and analyst?view pieces (CRRFY vs WMT; Wall Street bullish views) provide context but don’t move near?term fundamentals. CRRFY vs. WMT: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?
• Neutral Sentiment: Market write?ups noting recent intraday gains and facts about WMT trading are informational but not new catalysts. Walmart (WMT) Ascends While Market Falls: Some Facts to Note
• Neutral Sentiment: An article about Apple leadership change is unrelated to Walmart’s fundamentals and unlikely to affect WMT. Ternus the Page: Apple’s Engineering Prodigy Takes the Reins
• Negative Sentiment: Industry analysis shows Visa widening its advantage vs. Walmart in market cap/growth narrative — a reminder investors may favor faster?growing tech/fintech peers over large retailers, which can pressure relative multiple expansion. One Year Later: We Predicted Visa Would Overtake Walmart. Here’s Where That Stands.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MFA Wealth Services lifted its stake in Walmart by 0.7% in the first quarter. MFA Wealth Services now owns 10,909 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,356,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Realta Investment Advisors lifted its stake in Walmart by 2.0% in the first quarter. Realta Investment Advisors now owns 4,089 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $508,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Renaissance Group LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Group LLC now owns 9,636 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,074,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Calton & Associates Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Calton & Associates Inc. now owns 27,220 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,033,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advocacy Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Advocacy Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,392 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $378,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Trading Up 1.6%

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.05 trillion, a PE ratio of 48.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.83 and a beta of 0.66. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $125.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $116.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The retailer reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $190.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $188.37 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 3.07% and a return on equity of 21.44%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.66 earnings per share. Walmart has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.750-2.850 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 0.610-0.610 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 11th will be given a dividend of $0.2475 per share. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 11th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.13%.

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.