Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) Shares Down 2.5% – What’s Next?

Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) was down 2.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $130.33 and last traded at $130.85. Approximately 28,126,722 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 8% from the average daily volume of 25,925,941 shares. The stock had previously closed at $134.20.

Key Walmart News

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: UBS reaffirmed its Buy rating on Walmart and pointed to strong e-commerce growth, reinforcing confidence that the company can keep taking market share and improving profitability. UBS Reaffirms Buy Rating on Walmart (WMT) Amid Strong E-Commerce Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts have been raising price targets and earnings estimates ahead of the Q1 release, suggesting expectations remain constructive around Walmart’s execution and forward guidance. Walmart Stock: Here’s Why Analysts Are Raising Price Targets Before Q1 Earnings.
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart is being viewed as one of retail’s strongest names heading into earnings, with reports highlighting its scale, online push, and loyalty-fee businesses as advantages during tariff and inflation pressure. Scale, online push and loyalty fees: how Walmart won the year of the tariffs
• Positive Sentiment: Jim Cramer added to the bullish tone, calling Walmart “among the greatest companies in our era,” which can help sentiment as investors look for a defensive winner in a volatile market. Jim Cramer Says “Walmart’s Among the Greatest Companies in Our Era”
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are closely watching Walmart’s upcoming earnings and guidance, with market commentary suggesting the report could be a key catalyst if the company confirms strong growth trends. Walmart’s guidance in focus during Q1 earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Walmart remains in the spotlight as a defensive retail leader while investors compare it with Target and other chains ahead of a busy earnings season. Target eyes breakout on beat-and-raise report. Walmart results due
• Negative Sentiment: One small insider sale by EVP Daniel J. Bartlett created a mild overhang, though the transaction was pre-arranged and not necessarily a bearish signal. SEC Form 4 filing

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on WMT shares. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and set a $140.00 target price (up from $130.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $137.00 price target (up from $135.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, May 11th. HSBC downgraded shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $122.00 to $131.00 in a research note on Friday, February 20th. BTIG Research increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $125.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.88.

Walmart Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $126.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $119.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The firm has a market cap of $1.04 trillion, a PE ratio of 47.76, a P/E/G ratio of 4.93 and a beta of 0.65.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The retailer reported $0.74 EPS 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $188.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.66 EPS. The business’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. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 34,082 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.00, for a total transaction of $4,158,004.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 533,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,082,852. This trade represents a 6.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.71, for a total transaction of $2,460,201.36. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,023,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $509,780,812.39. The trade was a 0.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 167,190 shares of company stock worth $20,975,838. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. MFA Wealth Services boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. MFA Wealth Services now owns 10,909 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,356,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Realta Investment Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Realta Investment Advisors now owns 4,089 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $508,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Compton Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Compton Financial Group LLC now owns 2,081 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $259,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Renaissance Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Group LLC now owns 9,636 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,074,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Finally, Calton & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Calton & Associates Inc. now owns 27,220 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,033,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.