Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) Trading Up 3.4% – Here’s Why

Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT)’s share price was up 3.4% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $117.29 and last traded at $116.89. Approximately 29,878,090 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 13% from the average daily volume of 26,386,971 shares. The stock had previously closed at $113.06.

Key Walmart News

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart is expanding its Express Delivery offering to include Subway meals from in-store restaurants, a move that could boost customer convenience, order frequency, and higher-margin omnichannel sales. Walmart Adds Express Delivery From In-Store Restaurants, Starting With Subway®
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s annual shareholder meeting results highlighted strong FY26 performance and reinforced management’s view that Walmart’s omnichannel model is delivering consistent results. Walmart Announces 2026 Annual Shareholders’ Meeting Voting Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Walmart’s AI tooling news, including its “Code Puppy” effort and employee coding-tool token limits, suggests the company is actively managing AI costs and vendor dependence, but the direct financial impact is unclear. Code Puppy: Walmart’s secret weapon against AI lock-in
• Neutral Sentiment: Shareholders rejected a proposal to require a report on AI’s workplace impact, removing a potential governance burden, though the issue could remain a longer-term reputational topic. Walmart Shareholders Reject Bid to Require AI Workplace Impact Report
• Negative Sentiment: Erste Group Bank AG downgraded Walmart from buy to hold, which can pressure sentiment and signal more limited near-term upside after the recent run-up.
• Negative Sentiment: New lawsuit and consumer-safety headlines add legal and reputational risk, including allegations about hiring practices in Massachusetts and a separate product-safety suit involving Campbell’s soup sold at Walmart. Walmart Lawsuit Puts Massachusetts Hiring Practices And Investor Risks In Focus

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on WMT. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and set a $147.00 price target (up from $120.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Erste Group Bank cut Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Freedom Capital raised Walmart from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their target price on Walmart from $147.00 to $146.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $137.00 target price (up from $135.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, May 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $138.85.

Walmart Stock Up 1.6%

The firm has a market cap of $951.94 billion, a PE ratio of 41.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $125.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $121.09.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,335 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.63, for a total transaction of $166,381.05. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 636,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $79,369,743.09. This represents a 0.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,174,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $495,230,306.77. This represents a 0.46% decrease in their position. 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 117,008 shares of company stock valued at $14,492,704. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Merkkuri Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart during the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in Walmart during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Beacon Financial Strategies CORP purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.