Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Hits New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Walmart's share price hit a new 52-week high after Bank of America upgraded its price target from $120 to $125, currently holding a "buy" rating on the stock.
• In the last quarter, Walmart reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.68, missing an estimate of $0.74, while revenue also fell short of expectations at $169.34 billion.
• Insider trading activity includes CTO Suresh Kumar selling 30,000 shares at $103.47, while CEO C Douglas McMillon sold 19,416 shares at $95.58, reducing their ownership stakes.

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday after Bank of America raised their price target on the stock from $120.00 to $125.00. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the stock. Walmart traded as high as $105.48 and last traded at $104.67, with a volume of 4010526 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $103.42.

WMT has been the subject of several other research reports. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Mizuho reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $117.00 price target on shares of Walmart and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $111.45.

Insider Activity

In other news, CTO Suresh Kumar sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.47, for a total transaction of $3,104,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 1,787,200 shares in the company, valued at $184,921,584. The trade was a 1.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.58, for a total transaction of $1,855,781.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 4,412,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $421,737,000.84. This trade represents a 0.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 151,232 shares of company stock valued at $14,822,719. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Access Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Operose Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 319.7% in the first quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 319 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. PFS Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 267.8% in the second quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 320 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. grew its position in shares of Walmart by 98.2% in the first quarter. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. now owns 337 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd grew its position in shares of Walmart by 432.4% in the first quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 362 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Stock Up 1.2%

The firm's 50-day moving average price is $98.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $95.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $834.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.98 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 21st. The retailer reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $169.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $174.02 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 3.08% and a return on equity of 21.45%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.67 EPS. Walmart has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.580-0.600 EPS. FY 2026 guidance at 2.520-2.620 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Company Profile

Walmart Inc engages in the operation of retail, wholesale, other units, and eCommerce worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam's Club. It operates supercenters, supermarkets, hypermarkets, warehouse clubs, cash and carry stores, and discount stores under Walmart and Walmart Neighborhood Market brands; membership-only warehouse clubs; ecommerce websites, such as walmart.com.mx, walmart.ca, flipkart.com, PhonePe and other sites; and mobile commerce applications.

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