Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) Trading 2.1% Higher – Here’s Why

Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) shares shot up 2.1% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $112.51 and last traded at $111.74. Approximately 18,953,551 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 26% from the average session volume of 25,446,619 shares. The stock had previously closed at $109.47.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WMT. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $137.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective (up from $145.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.65.

Walmart Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $889.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.60. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $116.75 and a 200-day moving average of $122.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.77.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Latriece Watkins sold 11,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.97, for a total transaction of $1,308,670.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 120,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,300,550.91. The trade was a 8.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.63, for a total transaction of $2,303,320.08. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,174,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $495,230,306.77. This represents a 0.46% 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 have sold a total of 67,729 shares of company stock valued at $8,124,931 in the last three months. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Merkkuri Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Entrust Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 57.4% during the fourth quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 193.0% during the fourth quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC now owns 293 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sankala Group LLC bought a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

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.