Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) Hits New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Monday after Mizuho raised their price target on the stock from $125.00 to $137.00. Mizuho currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Walmart traded as high as $131.79 and last traded at $129.9920, with a volume of 2720059 shares. The stock had previously closed at $131.18.

WMT has been the subject of a number of other reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $126.00 target price (up from $123.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. DA Davidson set a $130.00 target price on shares of Walmart and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $129.00 target price (up previously from $122.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $130.00 price target (up from $120.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Thirty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.94.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.27, for a total transaction of $2,445,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 506,764 shares in the company, valued at $61,962,034.28. This trade represents a 3.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP David Chojnowski sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.65, for a total value of $746,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,289 shares in the company, valued at $14,535,221.85. This represents a 4.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 229,196 shares of company stock valued at $26,957,858. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd bought a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth approximately $14,840,000. Darden Wealth Group Inc raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Darden Wealth Group Inc now owns 5,795 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $646,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 154,558 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $17,221,000 after acquiring an additional 2,597 shares during the last quarter. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at $40,855,000. Finally, Pathfinder Wealth Consulting Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at $1,279,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.04 trillion, a P/E ratio of 45.63, a P/E/G ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.65. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $116.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $107.23.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 20th. The retailer reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $179.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $175.15 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.31% and a net margin of 3.26%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.58 earnings per share. Walmart has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.580-2.630 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

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.