Shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT – Get Free Report) rose 3.4% on Monday. The company traded as high as $127.94 and last traded at $127.69. Approximately 24,852,619 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 0% from the average session volume of 24,809,369 shares. The stock had previously closed at $123.51.
Key Stories Impacting Walmart
Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Walmart was among retailers leading a market rally following the Democrats’ congressional sweep, providing a favorable sector backdrop for the stock. Walmart, Target, and Dollar Tree lead retail rally
- Positive Sentiment: A reported $6 billion deal with Symbotic to automate warehouses could improve operating efficiency over time, though the scale of the investment also matters. Walmart in $6B Symbotic deal to automate warehouses
- Positive Sentiment: ETFs purchased $152.6 million of Walmart shares on Nov. 2, signaling notable fund demand. Walmart sees $152.6 million in net ETF buying
- Positive Sentiment: One long-term investment analysis argues Walmart is growing despite a challenging economy and that its business strength can justify a premium valuation. Why I’d buy Walmart in November and hold for a decade
- Neutral Sentiment: Executives Suresh Kumar and Daniel Bartlett disclosed share sales under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans. Such planned transactions are not necessarily signals about their view of Walmart’s outlook. Walmart executive share sale
- Negative Sentiment: AI shopping agents could challenge Walmart’s advertising revenue and access to customer data if shoppers increasingly use third-party agents instead of the retailer’s own channels. AI shopping agents could threaten Walmart’s ad business
- Negative Sentiment: Valuation remains a risk: coverage describes WMT as expensive, with a P/E around 45, and cites management’s prior warning of a potential slowdown. That could leave the shares sensitive to any disappointment. Should You Buy Walmart Stock Before Nov. 19?
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of research analysts recently weighed in on WMT shares. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $130.00 target price (down from $140.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, August 21st. Roth Capital reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Citigroup reduced their price target on Walmart from $147.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, August 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $132.41.
View Our Latest Report on Walmart
Walmart Stock Up 3.5%
The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company’s fifty day moving average is $111.56 and its 200-day moving average is $118.51. The company has a market cap of $1.02 trillion, a PE ratio of 44.12, a PEG ratio of 4.51 and a beta of 0.53.
Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The retailer reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $187.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $186.64 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 3.00% and a return on equity of 21.83%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.68 EPS. Walmart has set its Q3 2027 guidance at 0.620-0.640 EPS and its FY 2027 guidance at 2.800-2.870 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.88 EPS for the current year.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other Walmart news, EVP Christopher Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.60, for a total value of $349,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 563,353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $67,940,371.80. This represents a 0.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.60, for a total value of $1,582,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 634,790 shares in the company, valued at $76,555,674. The trade was a 2.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 268,222 shares of company stock worth $31,604,051 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart
Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WMT. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $7,455,131,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in Walmart in the second quarter worth $2,905,655,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in Walmart in the second quarter worth $796,677,000. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in Walmart by 54.0% during the second quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 18,607,297 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,107,462,000 after buying an additional 6,525,224 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi boosted its stake in Walmart by 44.4% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 20,796,957 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,355,463,000 after buying an additional 6,393,326 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
About Walmart
Walmart Inc (NASDAQ:WMT) operates a global retail business through a network of supercenters, supermarkets, discount stores, neighborhood markets, warehouse clubs and e-commerce platforms. Its stores and websites sell a broad assortment of merchandise, including groceries, consumables, health and wellness products, apparel, electronics, home goods, toys and other general merchandise.
The company organizes its operations into Walmart U.S., Walmart International and Sam’s Club U.S. Walmart U.S.
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