Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-five brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, thirty have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $135.7647.

A number of analysts recently commented on WMT shares. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $147.00 price objective (up from $135.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $135.00 target price (up from $125.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price target on Walmart from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $138.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 20th.

Walmart Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of WMT stock opened at $120.72 on Tuesday. Walmart has a 12-month low of $79.81 and a 12-month high of $134.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $124.13 and its 200 day moving average is $113.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $962.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.06, a P/E/G ratio of 4.43 and a beta of 0.66.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The retailer reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.01. The business 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.66 EPS. Walmart has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.750-2.850 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 0.610-0.610 EPS. Research analysts expect that Walmart will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 11th will be given a $0.2475 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 11th. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, 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 transaction of $2,171,291.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 4,315,333 shares in the company, valued at $482,583,689.39. This trade represents a 0.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.27, for a total value of $2,445,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 506,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $61,962,034.28. This trade represents a 3.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 274,278 shares of company stock worth $33,605,809. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $6,458,529,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 9,648.7% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,486,374 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,123,138,000 after acquiring an additional 11,368,549 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 188.1% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 6.8% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth approximately $592,848,000. 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.