Erste Group Bank Reiterates Hold Rating for Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT)

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT)‘s stock had its “hold” rating reissued by investment analysts at Erste Group Bank in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on WMT. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $138.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Wall Street Zen lowered Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 18th. Argus upgraded Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $145.00 target price (up from $128.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $135.76.

Walmart Trading Up 0.4%

Walmart stock opened at $123.80 on Thursday. Walmart has a 1 year low of $79.81 and a 1 year high of $134.69. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $121.87 and its 200-day moving average is $110.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.79. The company has a market cap of $986.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.18, a PEG ratio of 4.59 and a beta of 0.66.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The retailer reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.01. Walmart had a net margin of 3.07% and a return on equity of 21.44%. The business had revenue of $190.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $188.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.66 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter 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. On average, equities analysts expect that Walmart will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.83, for a total transaction of $2,171,291.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,315,333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $482,583,689.39. This trade represents a 0.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.99, for a total transaction of $1,574,868.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 727,155 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,251,328.45. This represents a 1.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 279,703 shares of company stock valued at $34,140,843. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 439,957,146 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $49,015,626,000 after acquiring an additional 4,304,436 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Walmart by 1.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 184,805,978 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $19,046,104,000 after purchasing an additional 2,242,364 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 103,010,709 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $11,426,753,000 after purchasing an additional 6,517,394 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $6,458,529,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 40,626,852 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,526,238,000 after purchasing an additional 328,229 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Walmart News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: OpenAI reportedly pulling back on direct purchases in ChatGPT could send more checkout traffic to retailer apps, giving Walmart’s commerce and app ecosystem an advantage. ChatGPT’s Retail Retreat Hands Walmart An AI Advantage: Analyst
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary and re‑rated fair‑value models are lifting the tech/AI narrative around Walmart, producing higher price targets and supporting upside expectations from investors focused on digital and ads monetization. How Walmart (WMT) Is Rewriting Its Story With Tech, AI And A Richer Valuation Debate
• Positive Sentiment: Company execution reminders — new store formats and ongoing omnichannel growth — reinforce the core retail case that underpins earnings stability. Walmart Opens Next Generation Supercenter in The Villages
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor attention is high — search and readership spikes (Zacks/Yahoo) and conference transcripts give analysts more to parse but contain no single market‑moving surprise. Investors Heavily Search Walmart Inc. (WMT): Here is What You Need to Know
• Negative Sentiment: A reported sale by a 10% Walmart owner totaling roughly $136.45M adds supply pressure and can prompt short‑term negative sentiment despite not reflecting company fundamentals. 10% Owner Of Walmart Sold $136.45M In Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Analyses highlight a cautious forward outlook and attention to a ~$100M regulatory settlement tied to the Spark Driver program — both factors that pressured the stock in recent sessions. Walmart slides as cautious outlook and regulatory settlement weigh on sentiment
• Negative Sentiment: Ongoing tariff and import risks remain a margin headwind risk given Walmart’s large import footprint; rising trade frictions could pressure costs if not passed to customers. Walmart: Navigating A Bumpy Tariff Environment

About Walmart

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.