Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) Trading Up 2.3% Following Analyst Upgrade

Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) shares were up 2.3% during mid-day trading on Monday after Truist Financial raised their price target on the stock from $127.00 to $139.00. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the stock. Walmart traded as high as $126.80 and last traded at $125.81. Approximately 25,266,733 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 35% from the average daily volume of 38,954,125 shares. The stock had previously closed at $122.99.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on WMT. HSBC downgraded shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $122.00 to $131.00 in a research report on Friday. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $125.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, January 15th. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $145.00 target price (up previously from $128.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, January 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $132.53.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 34,082 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.00, for a total value of $4,158,004.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 533,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,082,852. The trade was a 6.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.99, for a total value of $1,574,868.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 727,155 shares in the company, valued at $87,251,328.45. This represents a 1.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 261,903 shares of company stock worth $31,496,959. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Walmart News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Company-level catalyst — Walmart announced a new share-buyback alongside other large firms; buyback authorizations boost EPS potential and reduce share count over time. 3 Major Buybacks Just Dropped—Here’s the Signal Investors See
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support — Telsey raised its WMT target to $140 and kept an Outperform rating; BTIG reiterated a Buy and price-target lift headlines reinforce upside expectations. Telsey Advisory Sees Walmart Strengthening Position • BTIG Reiterates Buy
• Positive Sentiment: Fundamentals — Walmart’s U.S. segment delivered ~4.6% comp growth (grocery traffic + e‑commerce strength), supporting FY27 outlook and the recent earnings beat that investors cheered. WMT’s U.S. Segment Momentum
• Positive Sentiment: Market share/consumer trends — A dunnhumby tracker shows Walmart’s U.S. household penetration rising (reported at ~72%), evidence of resilient demand and pricing/affordability positioning versus traditional grocers. Walmart, Dollar Stores Beat Traditional Grocers’ Reach
• Neutral Sentiment: Street commentary — Additional analyst notes and bank commentary (Erste Group) provide perspective on FY outlook but don’t materially change consensus; they keep focus on execution and margin trends. Erste Group Bank Comments on Walmart FY2028 Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling — Multiple senior executives (CEO John Furner and two EVPs) disclosed sizable stock sales this week, which can create short‑term sentiment pressure even if sales are often for diversification or tax reasons. SEC filings: CEO Form 4, EVP Christopher Nicholas Form 4, EVP Latriece Watkins Form 4
• Negative Sentiment: Macro/headline risk — Walmart flagged labor-market nuances and mentioned a “hiring recession” context in broader commentary, which could signal consumer fragility ahead and temper cyclically sensitive spending. Walmart Warns of “Hiring Recession”

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Renaissance Group LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Group LLC now owns 9,636 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,074,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Calton & Associates Inc. grew its position in shares of Walmart by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Calton & Associates Inc. now owns 27,220 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,033,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Advocacy Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Advocacy Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,392 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $378,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Walmart by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,561 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $285,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capstone Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Capstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,955 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $552,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Trading Up 2.3%

The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.00 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.97 and a beta of 0.65. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $119.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $109.53.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The retailer reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.01. Walmart had a net margin of 3.07% and a return on equity of 21.44%. The business had revenue of $190.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $188.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.66 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Walmart has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.750-2.850 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 0.610-0.610 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.2475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 11th. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Walmart’s payout ratio is currently 34.31%.

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.