Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) Shares Up 2.8% – Time to Buy?

Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) shares traded up 2.8% on Thursday. The stock traded as high as $121.18 and last traded at $121.12. 27,516,999 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 10% from the average session volume of 24,985,637 shares. The stock had previously closed at $117.80.

Key Walmart News

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong momentum and defensive appeal: Walmart’s October rally reflects investor demand for consumer-staples companies amid economic uncertainty and persistent inflation. Analysts’ momentum screens also continue to identify WMT as a market-beating candidate. Walmart’s Best Month Since 1999 Leads a Record Staples Rally
• Positive Sentiment: AI-enabled shopping strategy: Walmart launched an Agent Gateway and related tools that let third-party AI agents shop for customers, manage transactions and improve purchasing accuracy. Embracing agentic commerce while Amazon restricts outside bots could help Walmart capture future digital sales and customer engagement. Walmart launches tools for AI agents to shop for customers
• Positive Sentiment: Membership and advertising opportunities: Walmart’s $120 Walmart+ and Sam’s Club bundle may improve customer retention and increase ecosystem engagement, while its advertising business is expanding beyond Walmart’s own shelves. These initiatives offer higher-margin revenue growth potential. Walmart Launches Walmart+ and Sam’s Club Bundle
• Positive Sentiment: Income-oriented demand: Walmart’s long record of dividend increases is attracting investors seeking reliable businesses while interest rates remain elevated. Recent ETF inflows also indicate continued institutional demand for WMT. Higher Rates Are Sending Investors to These 3 Dividend Kings
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation is demanding: Walmart trades at a premium earnings multiple, meaning investors are already pricing in sustained sales, profit and AI-related growth. This supports the rally but leaves less room for disappointment.
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive pricing pressure: Kroger plans to invest $5 billion in lower prices and cut corporate jobs using AI after losing market share to Walmart and Costco. A more aggressive grocery price war could pressure Walmart’s margins and require additional investments. Kroger Is Spending $5 Billion to Cut Prices

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on WMT shares. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, August 21st. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, August 21st. UBS Group reduced their target price on Walmart from $141.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 21st. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Walmart from $137.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-three have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $132.41.

Walmart Trading Up 2.8%

The firm has a market capitalization of $960.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.73, a PEG ratio of 4.26 and a beta of 0.58. The business’s 50 day moving average is $109.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $116.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The retailer reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.07. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.83% and a net margin of 3.00%. The firm had revenue of $187.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $186.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.68 EPS. Walmart’s revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Walmart has set its Q3 2027 guidance at 0.620-0.640 EPS and its FY 2027 guidance at 2.800-2.870 EPS. Analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.88 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 3,990 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.41, for a total transaction of $416,595.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 618,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $64,562,863.19. This represents a 0.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Daniel Danker sold 50,644 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.35, for a total transaction of $5,335,345.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 201,672 shares in the company, valued at $21,246,145.20. This represents a 20.07% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 102,244 shares of company stock valued at $11,112,044 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the second quarter worth approximately $7,455,131,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in Walmart in the second quarter valued at $2,905,655,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in Walmart in the second quarter valued at approximately $796,677,000. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 54.0% in the 2nd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 18,607,297 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,107,462,000 after purchasing an additional 6,525,224 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 44.4% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 20,796,957 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,355,463,000 after purchasing an additional 6,393,326 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Walmart

Walmart Inc (NASDAQ:WMT) operates a global retail business through a network of supercenters, supermarkets, discount stores, neighborhood markets, warehouse clubs and e-commerce platforms. Its stores and websites sell a broad assortment of merchandise, including groceries, consumables, health and wellness products, apparel, electronics, home goods, toys and other general merchandise.

The company organizes its operations into Walmart U.S., Walmart International and Sam’s Club U.S. Walmart U.S.