Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) Trading 2.8% Higher – Should You Buy?

Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT)’s stock price rose 2.8% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $128.60 and last traded at $127.95. Approximately 29,160,178 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 21% from the average daily volume of 37,079,574 shares. The stock had previously closed at $124.42.

Walmart News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America initiated coverage with a “Buy” rating and a $150 price target, signaling materially higher analyst optimism versus the current share level (roughly +17% upside from the cited price).
• Positive Sentiment: Recent quarterly results showed a slight EPS beat (reported $0.74 vs. $0.73 est.) and revenue topped estimates; management issued FY2027 EPS guidance of $2.75–$2.85, supporting multiple expansion and investor confidence.
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart is rolling out its Scintilla In-Store data platform and expanding private/partner brands, moves that reinforce higher-margin adjacencies (ads, marketplace, fulfillment) and long-term e?commerce/store integration growth. Walmart Supplier Tech And New Brands Reframe Stores As Data Platforms
• Neutral Sentiment: Brokerage consensus remains constructive — a “Moderate Buy” consensus was reported, reflecting institutional buy-side alignment but some variance in targets. Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages
• Neutral Sentiment: Walmart leadership will participate in upcoming investor events and webcasts — provides management access to investors for strategy updates and Q&A, which can influence near-term sentiment. Walmart Leadership to Participate in Upcoming Investor Events
• Negative Sentiment: Walmart agreed to settle FTC claims over Spark driver pay for roughly $100M total, including a $16M payout to drivers over alleged misleading pay/tip claims — a near-term cash hit and reputational/legal overhang, though not material to operating margins long-term at scale. Walmart agrees to $100M settlement over deceptive pay practices in Spark Driver program Walmart agrees to pay $16 million to its Spark delivery drivers to settle claims it misled them over tips and pay

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Tigress Financial set a $150.00 target price on shares of Walmart and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $135.00 price objective (up from $125.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Argus upgraded Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $145.00 price target on Walmart in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 target price (up from $136.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $134.42.

Walmart Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $120.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $109.91. The stock has a market cap of $1.02 trillion, a P/E ratio of 46.70, a PEG ratio of 5.07 and a beta of 0.65.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The retailer reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $190.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $188.37 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 3.07% and a return on equity of 21.44%. The business’s revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous 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. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 11th will be given a $0.2475 dividend. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 11th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.31%.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.99, for a total value of $1,574,868.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 727,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $87,251,328.45. The trade was a 1.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Friday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.83, for a total value of $2,171,291.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 4,315,333 shares in the company, valued at $482,583,689.39. This represents a 0.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 242,487 shares of company stock valued at $29,369,548 over the last quarter. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Access Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart in the second quarter worth $26,000. Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Beacon Financial Strategies CORP bought a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.