Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) Stock Price Down 3.9% – What’s Next?

Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT)’s share price was down 3.9% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $107.25 and last traded at $108.82. 40,233,716 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 54% from the average daily volume of 26,129,074 shares. The stock had previously closed at $113.26.

Key Stories Impacting Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart Connect appears to be becoming a more important margin driver as ad growth, seller spending and e-commerce gains improve the company’s profit mix. Is Walmart Connect Becoming a Bigger Margin Driver for WMT?
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart’s AI assistant, Sparky, is seeing rising usage and helping drive larger digital baskets, suggesting stronger engagement and potential support for online sales. Walmart’s Sparky Usage Doubles: Is AI Driving Bigger Orders?
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart is helping seniors navigate Medicare coverage for obesity drugs, reinforcing its role in healthcare-related services and customer support. Healthy Returns: Walmart, CVS step in to help seniors navigate Medicare coverage of obesity drugs
• Neutral Sentiment: Walmart continues to attract investor attention, but these articles do not add a major new catalyst beyond ongoing interest in the stock. Walmart Inc. (WMT) is Attracting Investor Attention: Here is What You Should Know
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent commentary also highlighted valuation concerns, with investors weighing Walmart’s rich multiple against its e-commerce and store investment potential. Walmart (WMT) Stock Weighs Rich Valuation Against E-Commerce And Store Investment Potential
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple reports say U.S. comparable sales growth may be slowing, which raises concern that Walmart’s core retail momentum is cooling. Walmart Shares Slip Amid Sales Slowdown Concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Cleveland Research flagged softer U.S. comparable sales, adding to pressure on the stock and reinforcing the selloff narrative. WMT Stock Sinks To Near Eight-Month Low — Cleveland Research Flags Slowing Sales

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on WMT shares. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $137.00 price objective (up from $135.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $137.00 price target (down from $140.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane cut their price objective on Walmart from $147.00 to $146.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.85.

Walmart Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $866.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.27 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $123.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $122.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.77.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.66. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.25% and a net margin of 3.13%.The business had revenue of $177.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $174.84 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.61 EPS. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Walmart has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.750-2.850 EPS and its Q2 2027 guidance at 0.720-0.740 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.84, for a total transaction of $1,638,525.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 674,162 shares in the company, valued at $84,162,384.08. This represents a 1.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Latriece Watkins sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.97, for a total transaction of $1,308,670.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 120,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,300,550.91. The trade was a 8.38% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 100,730 shares of company stock valued at $12,444,624 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Miller Global Investments LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 28.7% in the 2nd quarter. Miller Global Investments LLC now owns 606 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Adelphi Trust Co increased its position in shares of Walmart by 14.7% during the second quarter. Adelphi Trust Co now owns 13,234 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,499,000 after buying an additional 1,701 shares during the period. Eastern Bank increased its position in shares of Walmart by 1.8% during the second quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 896,633 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $101,553,000 after buying an additional 16,256 shares during the period. VectorGlobal IAG Inc. bought a new position in Walmart in the first quarter worth about $354,000. Finally, WealthPoint Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 20.9% in the first quarter. WealthPoint Financial LLC now owns 4,299 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $534,000 after buying an additional 742 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is 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.