Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) Trading 3.1% Higher – Should You Buy?

Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) shares traded up 3.1% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $132.43 and last traded at $131.93. 19,779,210 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 28% from the average session volume of 27,534,523 shares. The stock had previously closed at $128.01.

Key Stories Impacting Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart announced a third U.S. milk-processing facility, a $350 million investment to boost domestic dairy supply and vertical integration, which should cut supply-chain risk and support grocery margins. Walmart opens third U.S. milk processing facility with $350 million investment
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart earmarked millions for multiple Arizona store upgrades — investments that can boost traffic, comps and localized competitiveness. Walmart earmarks millions for multiple Arizona store upgrades
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional investor Alecta increased its Walmart stake by ~406,400 shares, a sign of confidence from a large pension investor. Alecta Pensionsforsakring Boosts Walmart Stake by 406,400 Shares
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart is expanding local-product assortments (e.g., region-specific coffee/beans) to better serve price‑sensitive consumers and differentiate merchandising — a low-cost way to improve basket relevance. Walmart Eyes Local Products as National Consumer Mood Sours
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage and analyst pieces debate Walmart vs. Costco and reiterate bullish theses on WMT’s e‑commerce gains and higher‑income customer mix — these keep sentiment constructive but don’t change fundamentals immediately. Better Buy: Walmart or Costco Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Several bullish write-ups (Yahoo/InsiderMonkey summarizing a Substack thesis) highlight valuation and growth arguments; useful for sentiment but not new company action. Is Walmart Inc. (WMT) A Good Stock To Buy Now?
• Neutral Sentiment: Walmart’s Acres for America grants program awarded $5.4M in conservation grants — positive for ESG profile but limited direct financial impact. NFWF Announces $5.4 Million in Grants from Walmart’s Acres for America Program
• Neutral Sentiment: Internal leadership redesign (changes to store-lead roles and retention moves for high-paid managers) suggests workforce optimization; could reduce costs or create short-term disruption depending on execution. Walmart redesigns its leadership pipeline as managers making $400K stay for longer

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Tigress Financial set a $150.00 target price on Walmart and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Walmart from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $120.00 target price on Walmart in a report on Friday, February 20th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $147.00 target price (up from $120.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $138.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $137.79.

Walmart Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $125.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $117.56. 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 stock has a market cap of $1.05 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.03, a P/E/G ratio of 4.91 and a beta of 0.65.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The retailer reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.01. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.44% and a net margin of 3.07%.The firm had revenue of $190.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $188.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.66 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Walmart has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.750-2.850 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 0.610-0.610 EPS. Analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.2475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 11th. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.13%.

Insider Activity

In other Walmart news, 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 transaction of $2,445,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 506,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,962,034.28. This represents a 3.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.71, for a total transaction of $2,460,201.36. Following the sale, the director owned 4,023,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $509,780,812.39. The trade was a 0.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 263,376 shares of company stock worth $32,851,650. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Collier Financial bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Entrust Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Merkkuri Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. 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.