Bank of America Initiates Coverage on Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Mar 1st, 2026

Walmart logo Equities research analysts at Bank of America began coverage on shares of Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT – Get Free Report) in a research report issued on Friday, Marketbeat reports. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $150.00 price target on the retailer’s stock. Bank of America‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 17.23% from the stock’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on WMT. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $140.00 price objective (up from $130.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Walmart from $127.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. DA Davidson set a $150.00 target price on Walmart and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $134.42.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on WMT

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $127.95 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock has a market cap of $1.02 trillion, a PE ratio of 46.70, a PEG ratio of 5.16 and a beta of 0.65. Walmart has a 12-month low of $79.81 and a 12-month high of $134.69. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $120.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $110.12.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 21.44% and a net margin of 3.07%.The company had revenue of $190.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $188.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.66 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Walmart has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.750-2.850 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 0.610-0.610 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Walmart will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 34,082 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 533,466 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,082,852. The trade was a 6.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.71, for a total value of $2,460,201.36. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,023,209 shares in the company, valued at $509,780,812.39. The trade was a 0.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 261,903 shares of company stock valued at $31,829,749 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WMT. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 28.8% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 98,150 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,868,000 after purchasing an additional 21,939 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in 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 buying an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Peterson Wealth Management lifted its stake in Walmart by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Peterson Wealth Management now owns 50,307 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,416,000 after acquiring an additional 1,715 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 13,008 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,272,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its holdings in Walmart by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 91,341 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,931,000 after acquiring an additional 1,048 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

Positive Sentiment: Bank of America initiated coverage with a “Buy” rating and a $150 price target, signaling materially higher analyst optimism versus the current share level (roughly +17% upside from the cited price).
Positive Sentiment: Recent quarterly results showed a slight EPS beat (reported $0.74 vs. $0.73 est.) and revenue topped estimates; management issued FY2027 EPS guidance of $2.75–$2.85, supporting multiple expansion and investor confidence.
Positive Sentiment: Walmart is rolling out its Scintilla In-Store data platform and expanding private/partner brands, moves that reinforce higher-margin adjacencies (ads, marketplace, fulfillment) and long-term e‑commerce/store integration growth. Walmart Supplier Tech And New Brands Reframe Stores As Data Platforms
Neutral Sentiment: Brokerage consensus remains constructive — a “Moderate Buy” consensus was reported, reflecting institutional buy-side alignment but some variance in targets. Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages
Neutral Sentiment: Walmart leadership will participate in upcoming investor events and webcasts — provides management access to investors for strategy updates and Q&A, which can influence near-term sentiment. Walmart Leadership to Participate in Upcoming Investor Events
Negative Sentiment: Walmart agreed to settle FTC claims over Spark driver pay for roughly $100M total, including a $16M payout to drivers over alleged misleading pay/tip claims — a near-term cash hit and reputational/legal overhang, though not material to operating margins long-term at scale. Walmart agrees to $100M settlement over deceptive pay practices in Spark Driver program Walmart agrees to pay $16 million to its Spark delivery drivers to settle claims it misled them over tips and pay

Walmart Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.