Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) Shares Up 1.4% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Walmart shares rose 1.4% in Monday trading, reaching as high as $133.47, though volume was below average.
• Analysts remain generally bullish: Walmart has an average “Buy” rating and an average price target of $138.88, with several firms recently reiterating or raising targets to as high as $150.
• The company’s latest earnings beat expectations, reporting $0.74 EPS on $190.66 billion in revenue, while also continuing to pay a quarterly dividend that annualizes to $0.99 per share.

Shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT - Get Free Report) rose 1.4% during 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 daily volume of 25,997,055 shares. The stock had previously closed at $131.45.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on WMT shares. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday. Craig Hallum set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, March 6th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 27th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $150.00 target price on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Tigress Financial set a $150.00 price target on shares of Walmart and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $138.88.

Walmart Price Performance

The company's 50 day moving average price is $126.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $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. The company has a market cap of $1.06 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.66, a P/E/G ratio of 4.85 and a beta of 0.65.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The retailer reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $190.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $188.37 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 3.07% and a return on equity of 21.44%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company 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. On average, equities research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 11th will be issued a $0.2475 dividend. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 11th. Walmart's payout ratio is presently 36.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.21, for a total transaction of $2,566,989.36. Following the sale, the director owned 4,193,995 shares in the company, valued at approximately $554,488,078.95. This represents a 0.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,335 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.63, for a total value of $166,381.05. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 636,843 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $79,369,743.09. This trade represents a 0.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 167,195 shares of company stock worth $20,975,804 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Walmart by 1.0% in the 4th 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 last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Walmart by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 184,805,978 shares of the retailer's stock worth $19,046,104,000 after buying an additional 2,242,364 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in 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 buying an additional 6,517,394 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at $6,458,529,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased 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 valued at $4,526,238,000 after buying an additional 328,229 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.

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