Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) Stock Price Up 1.4% – Here’s Why

Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT)’s share price shot up 1.4% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $133.47 and last traded at $133.34. Approximately 17,085,232 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 34% from the average session volume of 25,997,055 shares. The stock had previously closed at $131.45.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on WMT. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Walmart from $125.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. HSBC cut shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $122.00 to $131.00 in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $150.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $145.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $137.00 price objective (up from $130.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.88.

Walmart Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.06 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.85 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $126.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $119.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.79.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The retailer reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $188.37 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.66 EPS. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter 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 research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 11th will be issued a $0.2475 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 11th. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.13%.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Latriece Watkins sold 10,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.46, for a total transaction of $1,214,600.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 108,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,153,389.24. The trade was a 8.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.71, for a total value of $2,460,201.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,023,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 167,195 shares of company stock valued at $20,975,804. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WMT. MFA Wealth Services lifted its stake in Walmart by 0.7% in the first quarter. MFA Wealth Services now owns 10,909 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,356,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Realta Investment Advisors increased its position in shares of Walmart by 2.0% during the first quarter. Realta Investment Advisors now owns 4,089 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $508,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Compton Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 4.1% during the first quarter. Compton Financial Group LLC now owns 2,081 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $259,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. Renaissance Group LLC lifted its position 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Calton & Associates Inc. lifted its position in Walmart by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Calton & Associates Inc. now owns 27,220 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,033,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.