Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) Shares Up 1.5% on Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Walmart shares rose 1.5% after Wells Fargo raised its price target from $120 to $135 and maintained an overweight rating.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: the stock has a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $131.90, with JPMorgan’s target at $145.
• Walmart’s latest reported quarter beat earnings and revenue expectations, while insiders sold 268,222 shares worth about $31.6 million over the past three months.

Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT - Get Free Report)'s share price was up 1.5% during mid-day trading on Friday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $120.00 to $135.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Walmart traded as high as $128.27 and last traded at $128.09. Approximately 16,386,561 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 34% from the average daily volume of 24,807,109 shares. The stock had previously closed at $126.19.

Several other brokerages have also commented on WMT. Tigress Financial reissued a "buy" rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, August 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday. Argus dropped their target price on shares of Walmart from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Guggenheim set a $130.00 price target on shares of Walmart and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Deutsche Bank raised shares of Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $113.00 to $136.00 in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $131.90.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.66, for a total value of $1,399,912.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 647,912 shares in the company, valued at $69,106,293.92. This trade represents a 1.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CTO Suresh Kumar sold 166,342 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Friday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.21, for a total transaction of $20,494,997.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 1,632,223 shares in the company, valued at approximately $201,106,195.83. The trade was a 9.25% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 268,222 shares of company stock valued at $31,604,051. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Walmart

Investors following WMT have been watching these headlines:

• Positive Sentiment: Several Zacks articles point to the potential for an earnings beat in next week’s report, citing expected earnings growth and Walmart’s business momentum. Separately, ETFs reportedly bought $112.9 million of WMT shares on November 10, adding a source of demand. Earnings outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Walmart agreed to pay a record $7.8 million to settle Pennsylvania child-labor violations. The agreement also requires stronger compliance measures and provides for higher penalties for future violations, raising regulatory and oversight concerns. Pennsylvania child labor settlement
• Negative Sentiment: A recent analysis warns that Walmart shares have surged to a rich valuation, making upcoming earnings important to justify the price and potentially limiting upside if results disappoint. Walmart valuation analysis

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Walmart in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,451,000. Advisortrust Partners LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 20.2% in the first quarter. Advisortrust Partners LLC now owns 67,142 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,344,000 after buying an additional 11,283 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 2nd quarter valued at about $7,455,131,000. HORAN Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 55.7% in the first quarter. HORAN Wealth LLC now owns 81,544 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $9,931,000 after buying an additional 29,184 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park National Corp OH raised its position in Walmart by 282.9% during the third quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 119,865 shares of the retailer's stock worth $12,456,000 after acquiring an additional 88,562 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

The firm's 50-day moving average is $114.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $118.74. The stock has a market cap of $1.02 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.24, a P/E/G ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The retailer reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $187.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $186.64 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.83% and a net margin of 3.00%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.68 earnings per share. Walmart has set its Q3 2027 guidance at 0.620-0.640 EPS and its FY 2027 guidance at 2.800-2.870 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.88 earnings per share for the current year.

About Walmart

Walmart is a multinational retailer that operates discount stores, supercenters, neighborhood markets, and membership warehouse clubs. Its business includes Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam's Club. The company sells groceries and a broad range of general merchandise, including apparel, electronics, household goods, and health and wellness products. Walmart also serves customers through e-commerce, with services such as order pickup and delivery. Founded by Sam Walton in 1962, Walmart is headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas.

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