Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) Raised to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Saturday.

WMT has been the subject of several other reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Walmart from $110.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and set a $130.00 price target (up previously from $120.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, December 19th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $125.00 price objective (up previously from $120.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, November 21st. Finally, Truist Financial set a $127.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Thirty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.37.

Walmart Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $114.53 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $912.82 billion, a PE ratio of 40.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.22 and a beta of 0.66. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $109.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $103.73. Walmart has a 1 year low of $79.81 and a 1 year high of $117.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.24.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The retailer reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $179.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $175.15 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.31% and a net margin of 3.26%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.58 EPS. Walmart has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.580-2.630 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Walmart will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.63, for a total value of $406,520.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 1,040,455 shares in the company, valued at $105,741,441.65. This trade represents a 0.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP David Chojnowski sold 7,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,289 shares in the company, valued at $14,535,221.85. This represents a 4.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 125,628 shares of company stock worth $13,690,065. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WMT. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 397,264.9% in the second quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 104,514,912 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $10,496,702,000 after purchasing an additional 104,488,610 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Walmart during the second quarter worth $5,367,770,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 9,648.7% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,486,374 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,123,138,000 after buying an additional 11,368,549 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 188.1% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,663,172 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,199,907,000 after acquiring an additional 7,614,172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 431,817,510 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,223,116,000 after acquiring an additional 5,856,468 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Barclays reiterated its Buy rating on WMT, reinforcing institutional confidence in Walmart’s outlook and supporting demand for the stock. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Mizuho raised its price target to $125 (from $115) and kept an Outperform/Overweight view, signaling upward analyst momentum that can boost buying interest. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo also lifted its target to $130 and remains constructive on Walmart, adding to the analyst support narrative behind the rally. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart launched “Better Care Services,” a digital healthcare platform and lowered prices on some health items — a strategic push that could expand margins and services revenue over time. Analysts are re-assessing valuation with this new health push in mind. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart added Shishir Mehrotra (ex-Grammarly/Superhuman) to its board — a governance move emphasizing AI and e‑commerce expertise that investors view as strengthening Walmart’s tech roadmap. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Walmart launched a celebrity fashion line (Millie Bobby Brown) aimed at teens and young women — a branding/merchandising boost but likely modest near-term financial impact. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Market coverage notes (Zacks, Kalkine, AmericanBankingNews) show elevated investor attention and a consensus “moderate buy,” which keeps the stock in focus but doesn’t single-handedly move fundamentals. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Amazon received approval to build a 225,000 sq ft Walmart-style supercenter near Chicago that would blend in-store shopping with fulfillment — a clear competitive threat to Walmart’s grocery and omnichannel footprint in key markets. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Deutsche Bank downgraded Walmart from Buy to Hold with a $119 target, signaling some analyst caution (limits upside relative to recent price moves) and adding selling pressure for more risk‑sensitive investors. Read More.

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.