Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) Stock Price Up 1.5% – Still a Buy?

Shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) traded up 1.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $129.69 and last traded at $129.13. 13,818,734 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 54% from the average session volume of 29,825,484 shares. The stock had previously closed at $127.26.

Key Headlines Impacting Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Neuberger Berman’s senior analyst John San Marco says Walmart (alongside Costco) deserves its richer valuation, reinforcing buy-side confidence in WMT’s durable retail positioning and premium multiple. Costco and Walmart Deserve Their Rich Valuations, This Analyst Says
• Positive Sentiment: High-profile endorsements continue: Jim Cramer lists Walmart as one of his top retail picks, which can boost retail investor demand and sentiment. Jim Cramer Makes Major Prediction For Walmart (WMT) Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart’s EV charging expansion is highlighted as a strategic initiative that can increase store traffic, services revenue and sustainability credentials — a tangible new growth vector beyond core retail. Walmart EV Charging Push Adds New Dimension To Investment Case
• Positive Sentiment: Sam’s Club is raising membership prices effective May 1, which should lift recurring revenue and margins if membership retention holds. New Sam’s Club Price Hikes Take Effect May 1. Should You Buy Walmart Stock First?
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage on WMT’s YTD performance (≈14% YTD) notes omnichannel e-commerce, ads and memberships are boosting profits — but also flags a premium valuation and macro risks, leaving questions around near-term upside. Walmart Stock Gains 14% YTD: Buy, Hold or Take Profits Now?
• Neutral Sentiment: Walmart presented at the J.P. Morgan Retail Round Up Forum — management visibility to institutional investors can gradually reduce information asymmetry but rarely triggers sharp moves by itself. Walmart Inc. (WMT) Presents at J.P. Morgan Retail Round Up Forum 2026 Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro/industry context pieces (AI/agentic commerce, Navy Exchange competition) discuss structural tailwinds and competitive pressures that could subtly reshape long-term growth — worth watching but not immediate catalysts. 2 Stocks I’d Add to the Shopping Cart for the Agentic Commerce Revolution
• Neutral Sentiment: Erste Group slightly trimmed its FY2028 EPS view (from $3.25 to $3.24) but keeps a Strong-Buy — a negligible estimate change that doesn’t materially alter the investment case.
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation questions persist after a multi-quarter/share surge; analysis highlights that the stock’s run (~51% over one year) leaves less margin for upside and increases sensitivity to a macro slowdown. Is Walmart (WMT) Still Reasonably Priced After A 51% One Year Share Price Surge?
• Negative Sentiment: Recent short-term volatility: shares recently snapped a six-session winning streak and had a notable one-day pullback, reminding investors the stock can correct on profit-taking or sentiment shifts. Walmart shares snapped six-session winning streak

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and set a $140.00 price objective (up from $130.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 price objective (up from $125.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Craig Hallum set a $150.00 price objective on Walmart in a report on Friday, March 6th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and set a $125.00 price objective (up from $108.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $137.12.

Walmart Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company has a 50 day moving average of $125.47 and a 200 day moving average of $114.82. The firm has a market cap of $1.03 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.13, a PEG ratio of 4.69 and a beta of 0.66.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The retailer reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.01. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.44% and a net margin of 3.07%.The business had revenue of $190.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $188.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.66 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Walmart has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.750-2.850 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 0.610-0.610 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Investors of record on Friday, December 11th will be paid a $0.2475 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 11th. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Walmart’s payout ratio is 36.13%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total value of $2,313,804.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 4,274,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $509,434,589.52. The trade was a 0.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 34,082 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.00, for a total value of $4,158,004.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 533,466 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,082,852. This trade represents a 6.01% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 274,278 shares of company stock valued at $33,825,793. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Walmart by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 439,957,146 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $49,015,626,000 after buying an additional 4,304,436 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Walmart by 1.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 184,805,978 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $19,046,104,000 after buying an additional 2,242,364 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 6.8% in the fourth 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 bought a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $6,458,529,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 0.8% in the fourth 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 last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Company Profile

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.