Walmart’s (WMT) “Hold” Rating Reiterated at Erste Group Bank

Erste Group Bank reissued their hold rating on shares of Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on WMT. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and set a $134.00 price target (up from $129.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Walmart from $127.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Bank of America began coverage on Walmart in a report on Friday, February 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $150.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, January 18th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $125.00 target price (up from $108.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $135.76.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $123.80 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $121.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $111.00. The stock has a market cap of $986.71 billion, a PE ratio of 45.18, a P/E/G ratio of 4.61 and a beta of 0.66. Walmart has a 1-year low of $79.81 and a 1-year high of $134.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.24.

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

Walmart Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.10, for a total transaction of $1,694,437.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 591,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $76,308,944.40. This represents a 2.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.71, for a total transaction of $2,460,201.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,023,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $509,780,812.39. This trade represents a 0.48% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 279,703 shares of company stock worth $34,140,843 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at $6,458,529,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 9,648.7% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,486,374 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,123,138,000 after acquiring an additional 11,368,549 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 188.1% during 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 103,010,709 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $11,426,753,000 after acquiring an additional 6,517,394 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 431,817,510 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $42,223,116,000 after acquiring an additional 5,856,468 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: OpenAI reportedly pulling back on direct purchases in ChatGPT could send more checkout traffic to retailer apps, giving Walmart’s commerce and app ecosystem an advantage. ChatGPT’s Retail Retreat Hands Walmart An AI Advantage: Analyst
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary and re‑rated fair‑value models are lifting the tech/AI narrative around Walmart, producing higher price targets and supporting upside expectations from investors focused on digital and ads monetization. How Walmart (WMT) Is Rewriting Its Story With Tech, AI And A Richer Valuation Debate
• Positive Sentiment: Company execution reminders — new store formats and ongoing omnichannel growth — reinforce the core retail case that underpins earnings stability. Walmart Opens Next Generation Supercenter in The Villages
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor attention is high — search and readership spikes (Zacks/Yahoo) and conference transcripts give analysts more to parse but contain no single market‑moving surprise. Investors Heavily Search Walmart Inc. (WMT): Here is What You Need to Know
• Negative Sentiment: A reported sale by a 10% Walmart owner totaling roughly $136.45M adds supply pressure and can prompt short‑term negative sentiment despite not reflecting company fundamentals. 10% Owner Of Walmart Sold $136.45M In Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Analyses highlight a cautious forward outlook and attention to a ~$100M regulatory settlement tied to the Spark Driver program — both factors that pressured the stock in recent sessions. Walmart slides as cautious outlook and regulatory settlement weigh on sentiment
• Negative Sentiment: Ongoing tariff and import risks remain a margin headwind risk given Walmart’s large import footprint; rising trade frictions could pressure costs if not passed to customers. Walmart: Navigating A Bumpy Tariff Environment

About Walmart

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.