Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $117.60 and last traded at $116.8930, with a volume of 7095907 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $114.53.

Key Headlines Impacting Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart struck a partnership with Google to integrate Walmart and Sam’s Club assortments into Google’s Gemini AI assistant, making it easier for customers to discover and buy items via chat-based “agent-led” commerce — a material boost to Walmart’s digital distribution and online conversion potential. Walmart Teams With Google to Promote ‘Agent-Led Commerce’
• Positive Sentiment: Confirmation that WMT will join the Nasdaq‑100 (replacement of AstraZeneca, effective Jan. 20) should trigger index/ETF rebalancing flows and lift demand for the shares. Walmart shares jump after confirmation of Nasdaq-100 index inclusion
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart is expanding drone delivery rapidly (plans for 150–270 locations over the next year), which should lower last‑mile costs, improve same‑day fulfillment economics and bolster e‑commerce competitiveness versus peers. Walmart Expanding Drone Delivery to Hundreds More Stores
• Positive Sentiment: Sam’s Club membership income rose in Q3 with strong renewals and rising Plus penetration, supporting recurring revenue and margins for Walmart’s membership businesses. Walmart’s Sam’s Membership Grows: Will Renewal Strength Last?
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and market sentiment is moving positive: Bernstein raised its WMT price target and coverage tone reflects expectations for consumer resilience in 2026, supporting a re‑rating. Bernstein Raises Walmart (WMT) Price Target on 2026 Consumer Spending Expectations
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart‑backed fintech OnePay’s reported $4B valuation after an employee share repurchase highlights ancillary asset value and fintech optionality that investors may view favorably. Walmart’s OnePay Employee Share Repurchase Hints at $4 Billion Valuation
• Negative Sentiment: Broader market uncertainty — including headlines about a DOJ subpoena to the Fed Chair and questions around Fed independence — is pressuring futures and could cap risk appetite; such macro volatility can limit sector-wide upside even for defensive retailers. 5 Things to Know Before the Stock Market Opens

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on WMT shares. Mizuho set a $125.00 price objective on shares of Walmart and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Truist Financial set a $127.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $123.00 target price (up from $111.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Finally, Tigress Financial increased their price target on Walmart from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Thirty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.37.

Walmart Trading Up 3.5%

The firm has a market cap of $944.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.29 and a beta of 0.66. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $109.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $103.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.80.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 20th. The retailer reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.31% and a net margin of 3.26%.The firm had revenue of $179.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $175.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.58 earnings per share. Walmart’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. Equities analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.21, for a total transaction of $460,840.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 1,031,455 shares in the company, valued at $118,833,930.55. This trade represents a 0.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.23, for a total transaction of $244,706.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 617,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $68,664,281.14. The trade was a 0.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 125,628 shares of company stock worth $13,690,065. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WMT. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Access Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Walmart during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP acquired a new stake in Walmart in the third quarter worth $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart in the third quarter worth $30,000. Finally, PFS Partners LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 267.8% in the second quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 320 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. 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.