Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) EVP Christopher James Nicholas Sells 2,900 Shares

Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.92, for a total value of $359,368.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 577,853 shares in the company, valued at $71,607,543.76. This trade represents a 0.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Christopher James Nicholas also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, April 16th, Christopher James Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of Walmart stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.72, for a total value of $361,688.00.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $120.27 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $126.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $120.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $958.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.77. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $93.43 and a 52-week high of $135.15.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66. The business had revenue of $177.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $174.84 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.25% and a net margin of 3.13%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.61 EPS. Walmart has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.750-2.850 EPS and its Q2 2027 guidance at 0.720-0.740 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

More Walmart News

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart posted solid first-quarter results, with revenue of $177.8 billion and EPS of $0.66, while e-commerce sales rose 26% and advertising revenue jumped 37%, highlighting continued strength in digital and membership-driven businesses.
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts remained constructive after earnings: Bank of America reiterated a Buy rating and said Walmart is well positioned to gain share in a price-sensitive environment, while BTIG and BNP Paribas Exane also kept positive ratings despite modestly trimming price targets.
• Neutral Sentiment: Walmart disclosed pre-arranged insider sales by CEO John Furner and EVP Christopher James Nicholas, but both transactions were made under 10b5-1 plans, which typically limits how much investors read into them.
• Neutral Sentiment: News reports also noted leadership changes, including the departure of Sam’s Club COO Tom Ward and U.S. stores EVP Cedric Clark, adding some uncertainty but not appearing to change the company’s near-term operating outlook.
• Negative Sentiment: Shares weakened after Walmart issued second-quarter EPS guidance below consensus and reaffirmed full-year targets that also came in below Wall Street expectations, prompting concerns that margin pressure could continue.
• Negative Sentiment: Management said elevated fuel prices are pressuring both consumers and Walmart’s own costs, reinforcing worries that spending could soften and profitability could stay under pressure in the coming quarters.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Mizuho upped their target price on Walmart from $125.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $137.00 target price (up from $130.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, May 15th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $150.00 target price (up from $145.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $120.00 target price on Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $138.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $138.71.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WMT. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $6,458,529,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 188.1% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,663,172 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,199,907,000 after purchasing an additional 7,614,172 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 103,010,709 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $11,426,753,000 after purchasing an additional 6,517,394 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $592,848,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Walmart by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 439,957,146 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $49,015,626,000 after purchasing an additional 4,304,436 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by 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.