Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) Reaches New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $121.62 and last traded at $118.7260, with a volume of 7539229 shares. The stock had previously closed at $119.70.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on WMT shares. Evercore ISI set a $120.00 price target on shares of Walmart and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $129.00 target price (up previously from $122.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, January 5th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $125.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $128.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Thirty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.03.

Walmart Stock Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average of $112.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $104.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $951.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.73, a PEG ratio of 5.06 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.80.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The retailer reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $179.50 billion during 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 company’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.58 EPS. Walmart has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.580-2.630 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.83, for a total value of $2,171,291.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,315,333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $482,583,689.39. The trade was a 0.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.91, for a total transaction of $1,508,193.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 733,841 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $84,325,669.31. The trade was a 1.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 115,799 shares of company stock valued at $12,990,803. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Walmart by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 435,652,710 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $44,898,368,000 after purchasing an additional 3,835,200 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Walmart by 1.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 184,805,978 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $19,046,104,000 after purchasing an additional 2,242,364 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 94,557,532 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $9,199,712,000 after buying an additional 263,718 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 2nd quarter valued at $5,367,770,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.6% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 40,298,623 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,153,176,000 after buying an additional 634,211 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

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.