Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) Trading Up 1.8% – What’s Next?

Shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) traded up 1.8% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $109.74 and last traded at $109.08. 22,971,603 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 10% from the average session volume of 25,502,523 shares. The stock had previously closed at $107.15.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on WMT shares. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Walmart from $140.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Walmart from $140.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 21st. Freedom Capital raised shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, Gordon Haskett cut shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.88.

Walmart Stock Down 0.9%

The business has a 50 day moving average of $110.14 and a 200 day moving average of $118.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $857.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.59.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The retailer reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $187.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $186.64 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 3.00% and a return on equity of 21.83%. The business’s revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.68 earnings per share. Walmart has set its Q3 2027 guidance at 0.620-0.640 EPS and its FY 2027 guidance at 2.800-2.870 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.87 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Walmart news, EVP Christopher Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.34, for a total transaction of $308,386.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 569,153 shares in the company, valued at $60,523,730.02. This trade represents a 0.51% 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 link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Daniel Danker sold 50,644 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.35, for a total value of $5,335,345.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 201,672 shares in the company, valued at $21,246,145.20. The trade was a 20.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last three months, insiders have sold 67,879 shares of company stock worth $7,235,277. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 103,010,709 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $11,426,753,000 after acquiring an additional 6,517,394 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 2nd quarter worth about $7,455,131,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $6,458,529,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 40,626,852 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,526,238,000 after purchasing an additional 328,229 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Walmart by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 36,820,550 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,102,546,000 after purchasing an additional 920,969 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

About Walmart

Walmart Inc is a multinational retail and technology company that operates supercenters, discount stores, neighborhood markets, e-commerce platforms and membership warehouse clubs. Its merchandise includes groceries, apparel, electronics, home goods, health and beauty products, general merchandise and other consumer products.

Founded by Sam Walton in 1962 and incorporated in 1969, Walmart is headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas. The company serves customers through operations in the United States and international markets, including Mexico, Canada, China, India and several countries in Central America and Africa.