Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) Upgraded by Freedom Capital to Hold Rating

Posted by George Bondi on May 23rd, 2026

Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT – Free Report) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

WMT has been the subject of a number of other reports. Craig Hallum set a $150.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $138.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 20th. Mizuho upped their price objective on Walmart from $125.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. UBS Group set a $141.00 price objective on Walmart and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $145.00 target price on Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.71.

Read Our Latest Research Report on WMT

Walmart Trading Down 0.9%

NASDAQ WMT opened at $120.27 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $126.77 and its 200-day moving average is $120.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $958.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.20, a PEG ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.65. Walmart has a one year low of $93.43 and a one year high of $135.15.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.66. Walmart had a net margin of 3.13% and a return on equity of 21.25%. The company had revenue of $177.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $174.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.61 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Walmart has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.750-2.850 EPS and its Q2 2027 guidance at 0.720-0.740 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Walmart will post 2.89 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.21, for a total value of $2,566,989.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,193,995 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $554,488,078.95. This trade represents a 0.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.08, for a total transaction of $1,628,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 661,037 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $82,021,470.96. This represents a 1.95% 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 a total of 126,008 shares of company stock worth $15,896,715 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Collier Financial bought a new position in Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Merkkuri Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

Positive Sentiment: Walmart posted solid first-quarter results, with revenue of $177.8 billion and EPS of $0.66, while e-commerce sales rose 26% and advertising revenue jumped 37%, highlighting continued strength in digital and membership-driven businesses.
Positive Sentiment: Several analysts remained constructive after earnings: Bank of America reiterated a Buy rating and said Walmart is well positioned to gain share in a price-sensitive environment, while BTIG and BNP Paribas Exane also kept positive ratings despite modestly trimming price targets.
Neutral Sentiment: Walmart disclosed pre-arranged insider sales by CEO John Furner and EVP Christopher James Nicholas, but both transactions were made under 10b5-1 plans, which typically limits how much investors read into them.
Neutral Sentiment: News reports also noted leadership changes, including the departure of Sam’s Club COO Tom Ward and U.S. stores EVP Cedric Clark, adding some uncertainty but not appearing to change the company’s near-term operating outlook.
Negative Sentiment: Shares weakened after Walmart issued second-quarter EPS guidance below consensus and reaffirmed full-year targets that also came in below Wall Street expectations, prompting concerns that margin pressure could continue.
Negative Sentiment: Management said elevated fuel prices are pressuring both consumers and Walmart’s own costs, reinforcing worries that spending could soften and profitability could stay under pressure in the coming quarters.

Walmart Company Profile

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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.