Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) Shares Down 2.2% – What’s Next?

Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT)’s share price traded down 2.2% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $126.38 and last traded at $127.59. 18,342,070 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 31% from the average session volume of 26,458,521 shares. The stock had previously closed at $130.43.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Telsey Advisory Group upped their price objective on Walmart from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Mizuho upped their price objective on Walmart from $125.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Walmart from $127.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $140.00 target price (up from $125.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.33.

Walmart Trading Down 2.2%

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 firm has a market cap of $1.02 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 0.65. The business has a 50 day moving average of $125.91 and a 200 day moving average of $118.22.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The retailer reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $190.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $188.37 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.44% and a net margin of 3.07%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company 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. On average, research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, CEO John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.84, for a total transaction of $1,638,525.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 674,162 shares in the company, valued at approximately $84,162,384.08. This represents a 1.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,335 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.63, for a total value of $166,381.05. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 636,843 shares in the company, valued at $79,369,743.09. This trade represents a 0.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 167,195 shares of company stock valued at $20,975,804. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

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

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.