Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) Shares Down 3.8% – Time to Sell?

Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT)’s share price dropped 3.8% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $128.16 and last traded at $128.85. Approximately 34,602,078 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 12% from the average daily volume of 39,358,621 shares. The stock had previously closed at $133.89.

Key Stories Impacting Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat modestly: EPS $0.74 vs. $0.73 consensus and revenue $190.7B vs. ~$188.4B expected; e‑commerce grew ~24% and advertising climbed ~37%, supporting revenue diversification and margin lift. Walmart Q4 Press Release
• Positive Sentiment: Board raised the annual dividend 5% to $0.99 (four quarterly payments of $0.2475) and reiterated capital returns (new $30B buyback authorization), which bolsters income investors and signals confidence in cash flow. Dividend Increase Announcement
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and institutional support: Argus upgraded to Strong Buy and some firms (e.g., DA Davidson) reaffirmed Buy ratings and targets near the prior highs — providing analyst-level upside case. Analyst Coverage / DA Davidson
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider sale: EVP Daniel Bartlett sold 1,255 shares (small size relative to his holdings), filed with the SEC — routine but noted by traders. SEC Form 4 – Bartlett Sale
• Negative Sentiment: Cautionary guidance: FY‑2027 EPS guidance of $2.75–2.85 came in below consensus (~$2.94) and Q1 guidance was conservative — that outlook drove the intraday pullback as investors reset expectations. Walmart Guidance in Q4 Release
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction and competitive noise: Coverage noted a premarket drop and commentary that Amazon has just surpassed Walmart in annual revenue — a symbolic shift that fuels short‑term concern about competitive positioning. Amazon Surpasses Walmart – CNBC

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. CICC Research initiated coverage on Walmart in a research report on Friday, December 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $125.00 price target for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $119.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Walmart from $128.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $140.00 price objective (up from $130.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $128.59.

Walmart Trading Down 1.4%

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $119.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $109.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The stock has a market cap of $995.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.66, a P/E/G ratio of 4.99 and a beta of 0.65.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The retailer reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.01. Walmart had a net margin of 3.26% and a return on equity of 21.31%. The company had revenue of $190.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $188.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.66 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Walmart has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.750-2.850 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 0.610-0.610 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Investors of record on Friday, December 11th will be given 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 dividend yield of 0.8%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 7,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.65, for a total value of $746,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,289 shares in the company, valued at $14,535,221.85. The trade was a 4.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.99, for a total transaction of $1,574,868.75. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 727,155 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,251,328.45. This trade represents a 1.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 211,696 shares of company stock worth $25,176,467 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Walmart by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 439,957,146 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $49,015,626,000 after buying an additional 4,304,436 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 184,805,978 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $19,046,104,000 after acquiring an additional 2,242,364 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew 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 acquiring an additional 6,517,394 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth $6,458,529,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 40,626,852 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,526,238,000 after purchasing an additional 328,229 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.