Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-five research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $135.7647.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. DA Davidson set a $150.00 price target on Walmart and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $145.00 price objective (up from $136.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $138.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $145.00 price target on Walmart in a report on Friday, February 20th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, EVP Latriece Watkins sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.46, for a total transaction of $1,214,600.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 108,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,153,389.24. This represents a 8.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.16, for a total transaction of $2,391,274.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,213,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $518,923,082.96. This trade represents a 0.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 274,278 shares of company stock valued at $33,825,793 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $6,458,529,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 9,648.7% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,486,374 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,123,138,000 after buying an additional 11,368,549 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 188.1% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,663,172 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,199,907,000 after buying an additional 7,614,172 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 103,010,709 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $11,426,753,000 after buying an additional 6,517,394 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors acquired a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $592,848,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $123.50 on Tuesday. Walmart has a 12-month low of $79.81 and a 12-month high of $134.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $984.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.58 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $124.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $113.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

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

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 11th will be given a dividend of $0.2475 per share. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 11th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.13%.

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.