Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) Stock Price Down 1.4% – Here’s Why

Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT)’s stock price was down 1.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $112.10 and last traded at $112.72. Approximately 22,192,382 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 17% from the average daily volume of 19,040,119 shares. The stock had previously closed at $114.34.

More Walmart News

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Barclays reiterated its Buy rating on WMT, reinforcing institutional confidence in Walmart’s outlook and supporting demand for the stock. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Mizuho raised its price target to $125 (from $115) and kept an Outperform/Overweight view, signaling upward analyst momentum that can boost buying interest. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo also lifted its target to $130 and remains constructive on Walmart, adding to the analyst support narrative behind the rally. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart launched “Better Care Services,” a digital healthcare platform and lowered prices on some health items — a strategic push that could expand margins and services revenue over time. Analysts are re-assessing valuation with this new health push in mind. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart added Shishir Mehrotra (ex-Grammarly/Superhuman) to its board — a governance move emphasizing AI and e‑commerce expertise that investors view as strengthening Walmart’s tech roadmap. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Walmart launched a celebrity fashion line (Millie Bobby Brown) aimed at teens and young women — a branding/merchandising boost but likely modest near-term financial impact. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Market coverage notes (Zacks, Kalkine, AmericanBankingNews) show elevated investor attention and a consensus “moderate buy,” which keeps the stock in focus but doesn’t single-handedly move fundamentals. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Amazon received approval to build a 225,000 sq ft Walmart-style supercenter near Chicago that would blend in-store shopping with fulfillment — a clear competitive threat to Walmart’s grocery and omnichannel footprint in key markets. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Deutsche Bank downgraded Walmart from Buy to Hold with a $119 target, signaling some analyst caution (limits upside relative to recent price moves) and adding selling pressure for more risk‑sensitive investors. Read More.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Walmart from $128.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 21st. Truist Financial set a $127.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 price objective (up previously from $115.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, September 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $129.00 price target for the company. Thirty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.37.

Walmart Trading Up 1.3%

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $109.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $103.61. The firm has a market cap of $912.82 billion, a PE ratio of 40.05, a PEG ratio of 5.22 and a beta of 0.66. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 20th. The retailer reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 3.26% and a return on equity of 21.31%. The company had revenue of $179.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $175.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.58 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Walmart has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.580-2.630 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was 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 owned 136,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,535,221.85. This represents a 4.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.63, for a total transaction of $406,520.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 1,040,455 shares in the company, valued at $105,741,441.65. The trade was a 0.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 125,628 shares of company stock valued at $13,690,065 over the last quarter. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 397,264.9% during the 2nd quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 104,514,912 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $10,496,702,000 after acquiring an additional 104,488,610 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Walmart in the second quarter valued at approximately $5,367,770,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 9,648.7% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,486,374 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,123,138,000 after purchasing an additional 11,368,549 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 188.1% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,663,172 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,199,907,000 after purchasing an additional 7,614,172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.4% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 431,817,510 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,223,116,000 after buying an additional 5,856,468 shares during the period. 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.