Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) Reaches New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $116.48 and last traded at $115.7690, with a volume of 2580026 shares. The stock had previously closed at $115.52.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company set a $120.00 price objective on Walmart and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $123.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on Walmart from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $122.00 target price (up from $118.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, November 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Walmart from $128.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 21st. Thirty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $119.31.

Walmart Price Performance

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 company has a 50 day moving average of $106.31 and a 200-day moving average of $101.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $930.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.80, a P/E/G ratio of 5.40 and a beta of 0.64.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 7,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.65, for a total value of $746,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,535,221.85. The trade was a 4.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.21, for a total value of $2,003,925.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,373,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $451,396,778.96. This trade represents a 0.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 128,013 shares of company stock valued at $13,553,747 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WMT. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 28.8% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 98,150 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,868,000 after acquiring an additional 21,939 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,849 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $800,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 84.6% during the 1st quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 19,196 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,685,000 after buying an additional 8,798 shares in the last quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 46.7% during the 1st quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. now owns 4,208 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $369,000 after buying an additional 1,340 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new position in Walmart in the first quarter valued at about $510,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Company Profile

Walmart Inc engages in the operation of retail, wholesale, other units, and eCommerce worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam's Club. It operates supercenters, supermarkets, hypermarkets, warehouse clubs, cash and carry stores, and discount stores under Walmart and Walmart Neighborhood Market brands; membership-only warehouse clubs; ecommerce websites, such as walmart.com.mx, walmart.ca, flipkart.com, PhonePe and other sites; and mobile commerce applications.