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

Shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) have been given a consensus rating of “Buy” by the thirty-four research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, thirty have assigned a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $138.8788.

WMT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $137.00 target price (up from $130.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Walmart from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $140.00 target price (up from $130.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $145.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $145.00 target price (up from $128.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 13th.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, CEO John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.96, for a total transaction of $1,600,725.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 687,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $83,821,522.52. This trade represents a 1.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.71, for a total value of $2,460,201.36. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,023,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $509,780,812.39. The trade was a 0.48% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 167,195 shares of company stock valued at $20,975,804 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 439,957,146 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $49,015,626,000 after purchasing an additional 4,304,436 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 184,805,978 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $19,046,104,000 after purchasing an additional 2,242,364 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 103,010,709 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $11,426,753,000 after purchasing an additional 6,517,394 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $6,458,529,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 40,626,852 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,526,238,000 after buying an additional 328,229 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WMT opened at $131.45 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.05 trillion, a PE ratio of 47.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.85 and a beta of 0.65. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $126.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $119.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.24. Walmart has a 12 month low of $93.43 and a 12 month high of $134.69.

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

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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

Trending Headlines about Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: UBS and other analysts expect Walmart to deliver another strong quarter, helped by resilient grocery demand, e-commerce growth, and advertising momentum, which could support the stock if results meet or exceed expectations.
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America said Walmart’s consistent sales growth should be rewarded by the market, reinforcing the view that WMT remains a defensive growth name ahead of earnings.
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary also highlights Walmart as a long-term growth and momentum stock, with investors continuing to search for the name ahead of the report.
• Neutral Sentiment: Walmart said it will host its first-quarter earnings conference call on May 21, keeping attention focused on upcoming results and guidance rather than any new business update. Walmart To Host First Quarter Earnings Conference Call May 21, 2026
• Negative Sentiment: One bearish analysis argued that expectations may be too high versus Walmart’s own guidance, warning that reported sales growth may not be enough to justify a further move higher and that investors may want to trim positions.

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.