Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) Shares Up 2% – Should You Buy?

Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT)’s share price shot up 2% during trading on Tuesday. The company traded as high as $107.55 and last traded at $107.20. Approximately 21,654,221 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 14% from the average daily volume of 25,312,521 shares. The stock had previously closed at $105.07.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on WMT. Mizuho cut their price target on Walmart from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Evercore set a $125.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, August 21st. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.74.

Walmart Price Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $108.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $116.55. 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 stock has a market cap of $878.54 billion, a PE ratio of 39.95, a P/E/G ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 0.58.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The retailer reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $187.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $186.64 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 3.00% and a return on equity of 21.83%. Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.68 earnings per share. Walmart has set its Q3 2027 guidance at 0.620-0.640 EPS and its FY 2027 guidance at 2.800-2.870 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, EVP Christopher Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.65, for a total transaction of $309,285.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 566,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $60,390,882.45. This represents a 0.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Daniel Bartlett sold 3,990 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.41, for a total value of $416,595.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 618,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $64,562,863.19. This represents a 0.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 81,219 shares of company stock worth $8,604,429. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Artemis Investment Management LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 51.7% in the 3rd quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 779,272 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $80,982,000 after acquiring an additional 265,717 shares during the last quarter. Aletheian Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 2.2% during the third quarter. Aletheian Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,186 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $539,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Apeiron RIA LLC raised its position in Walmart by 129.1% during the third quarter. Apeiron RIA LLC now owns 7,000 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $730,000 after purchasing an additional 3,945 shares during the period. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 111,309 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $11,567,000 after purchasing an additional 4,012 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Titleist Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. Titleist Asset Management LLC now owns 13,239 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,376,000 after purchasing an additional 1,305 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Company Profile

Walmart Inc (NASDAQ: WMT) is a multinational retailer that operates supercenters, discount stores, neighborhood markets, warehouse clubs and e-commerce platforms. Its merchandise includes groceries, apparel, electronics, home goods, health and wellness products, household essentials and general merchandise. Walmart also provides services such as grocery pickup and delivery, pharmacy services, financial products and digital advertising.

The company serves customers through its Walmart U.S., Walmart International and Sam’s Club segments.