Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) Sets New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $122.95 and last traded at $123.2410, with a volume of 7553434 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $119.14.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on WMT shares. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $135.00 target price (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $128.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $129.00 price target (up from $122.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, Tigress Financial increased their price objective on Walmart from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Thirty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.37.

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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $114.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $106.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $986.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.29, a PEG ratio of 5.08 and a beta of 0.65.

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

Insider Activity

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total value of $2,313,804.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,274,856 shares in the company, valued at $509,434,589.52. This trade represents a 0.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.99, for a total transaction of $1,574,868.75. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 727,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $87,251,328.45. This represents a 1.77% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 133,015 shares of company stock worth $15,082,012 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Woodard & Co. Asset Management Group Inc. ADV grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 24.8% during the 4th quarter. Woodard & Co. Asset Management Group Inc. ADV now owns 21,809 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,430,000 after purchasing an additional 4,327 shares in the last quarter. Greenfield Savings Bank lifted its position in Walmart by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Greenfield Savings Bank now owns 13,458 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,499,000 after purchasing an additional 703 shares during the period. Alliance Wealth Strategies LLC d b a Brown Edwards Wealth Strategies acquired a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $2,102,000. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co acquired a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $1,896,000. Finally, Souders Financial Advisors increased its holdings in Walmart by 141.1% in the 4th quarter. Souders Financial Advisors now owns 15,114 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,684,000 after buying an additional 8,846 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

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.