Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) Price Target Raised to $145.00

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) had its target price hoisted by equities researchers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $125.00 to $145.00 in a research report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the retailer’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price points to a potential upside of 15.27% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 price objective (down from $145.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Freedom Broker raised Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Walmart from $140.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $128.00 price target (down from $137.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $135.00 price objective (down from $145.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $130.13.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT stock traded up $0.27 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $125.79. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 13,977,695 shares, compared to its average volume of 24,882,955. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $112.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $118.59. The company has a market cap of $998.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.37, a PEG ratio of 4.53 and a beta of 0.53. Walmart has a 1-year low of $98.88 and a 1-year high of $135.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.77.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The retailer reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.07. Walmart had a net margin of 3.00% and a return on equity of 21.83%. The business had revenue of $187.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $186.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.68 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. 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, research analysts predict that Walmart will post 2.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Daniel Danker sold 50,644 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.35, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 20.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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. Also, CTO Suresh Kumar sold 166,342 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.21, for a total value of $20,494,997.82. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 1,632,223 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $201,106,195.83. This represents a 9.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 268,222 shares of company stock worth $31,604,051 over the last ninety days. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.1% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 188,036,646 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $21,297,031,000 after buying an additional 2,107,781 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Walmart in the second quarter valued at approximately $7,455,131,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Walmart by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 28,142,040 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,497,493,000 after acquiring an additional 1,681,353 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,905,655,000. Finally, Amundi raised its position in shares of Walmart by 44.4% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 20,796,957 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,355,463,000 after acquiring an additional 6,393,326 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Company Profile

Walmart is a multinational retailer that operates discount stores, supercenters, neighborhood markets, and membership warehouse clubs. Its business includes Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam’s Club.

The company sells groceries and a broad range of general merchandise, including apparel, electronics, household goods, and health and wellness products. Walmart also serves customers through e-commerce, with services such as order pickup and delivery.

Founded by Sam Walton in 1962, Walmart is headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas.