Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) Trading Up 1.4% – Still a Buy?

Shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) were up 1.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $125.39 and last traded at $125.2710. Approximately 21,693,765 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 36% from the average daily volume of 33,903,992 shares. The stock had previously closed at $123.49.

Key Walmart News

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart reported continued digital strength: eCommerce grew ~24% in the fiscal fourth quarter, reinforcing its omnichannel momentum and supporting revenue beat and modest upside to guidance — a clear near-term growth driver. Walmart eCommerce Up 24: Can Digital Momentum Continue?
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and portfolio shops remain constructive: Tigress Financial reiterated a Buy and raised its price target to $150, citing Walmart’s shift toward tech-driven omnichannel operations — a signal of upward analyst sentiment. Tigress Financial Sees Walmart Inc. (WMT) as Tech-Driven Retail Leader
• Positive Sentiment: Flipkart IPO progress (Walmart-backed) remains a potential longer-term upside — an equity event that could unlock value and generate cash/strategic optionality. Walmart-backed Flipkart preps for an IPO as early as this year
• Neutral Sentiment: Schaeffer’s options commentary flagged bullish setups and the possibility of further record highs for WMT — useful for options traders but not a broad fundamental catalyst. Walmart Stock Could Nab More Record Highs
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysis pieces (The Motley Fool) flag that Walmart’s digital push could pay off if fulfillment economics and ROIC improve; it’s strategic upside but execution-dependent. Will Walmart’s Digital Push Pay Off in 2026?
• Neutral Sentiment: Walmart is referenced in pieces about stock splits and retail-focused ETFs — background thematic support but not an immediate catalyst. 3 ETFs That Could Benefit as Consumers Tighten Their Budgets (WMT)
• Negative Sentiment: Geopolitical risk: coverage notes the Iran war and possible Strait of Hormuz disruptions could push supply-chain costs and retail prices higher — a margin and inflation risk for Walmart. How the Iran war could start to impact U.S. retail prices
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and sentiment pressure: commentary (247WallStreet) highlights retail investor criticism of WMT’s ~46x multiple and recent bearish social sentiment, raising the risk of multiple compression if growth disappoints. Reddit’s Loudest Walmart Critics Have a Point About That 46x Multiple

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on WMT. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $127.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Tigress Financial set a $150.00 price target on shares of Walmart and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $147.00 price target (up from $135.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, March 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $135.76.

Walmart Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.79. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $123.16 and a 200 day moving average of $111.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.01 trillion, a P/E ratio of 46.18, a P/E/G ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 0.66.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The retailer reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 last year, the business posted $0.66 earnings per share. The firm’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. Equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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 paid a dividend of $0.2475 per share. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 11th. Walmart’s payout ratio is presently 34.31%.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Donna Morris sold 76,181 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.79, for a total value of $9,430,445.99. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 402,072 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,772,492.88. This trade represents a 15.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 34,082 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.00, for a total value of $4,158,004.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 533,466 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,082,852. This trade represents a 6.01% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 279,703 shares of company stock worth $34,140,843 in the last quarter. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Walmart by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 439,957,146 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $49,015,626,000 after purchasing an additional 4,304,436 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in Walmart by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 184,805,978 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $19,046,104,000 after buying an additional 2,242,364 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 103,010,709 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $11,426,753,000 after buying an additional 6,517,394 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $6,458,529,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 40,626,852 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,526,238,000 after acquiring an additional 328,229 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

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.