Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) Stock Price Down 1% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) dropped 1% on Friday. The stock traded as low as $119.12 and last traded at $119.89. Approximately 18,105,781 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 27% from the average session volume of 24,969,219 shares. The stock had previously closed at $121.12.

Key Stories Impacting Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AI shopping tools could expand Walmart’s digital sales. Walmart introduced tools that allow third-party AI agents to search for products and complete purchases on customers’ behalf. The strategy could increase transaction volume and keep Walmart competitive in AI-enabled commerce, particularly as Amazon takes a more restrictive approach to outside shopping bots. Walmart launches tools for AI agents to shop for customers
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart+ and Sam’s Club are being bundled for $120. The combined membership offer may improve customer retention, increase cross-shopping between Walmart and Sam’s Club, and support recurring fee revenue. Walmart’s $120 Walmart+ and Sam’s Club Bundle
• Positive Sentiment: Recent momentum reflects investor confidence in Walmart’s defensive retail position. Reports say Walmart is on track for its strongest monthly performance since 1999, while it continues to gain grocery market share and benefit from a relatively resilient consumer base. Walmart’s Best Month Since 1999 Leads a Record Staples Rally
• Neutral Sentiment: New Fast & Furious collectibles are coming to Walmart. The 25th-anniversary NOS capsule collection could generate incremental seasonal traffic and sales, but the financial impact is likely limited relative to Walmart’s overall business. PMI Brings Fast and Furious Collectibles to Walmart
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation is becoming a bigger concern. Walmart has returned about 160% over five years and is trading well above historical earnings multiples. Investors may be questioning whether future earnings growth can justify the current price, increasing the risk of profit-taking after the recent rally. Is Walmart Getting Too Expensive on Earnings?
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive pressure could intensify in groceries. Kroger plans to use cost reductions and lower prices to regain market share from Walmart and Costco, potentially pressuring Walmart’s pricing power and margins. Kroger Plans Price Cuts to Compete With Walmart

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Walmart from $140.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 21st. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Walmart from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, August 31st. Finally, Freedom Broker raised shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-three have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $132.41.

Walmart Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $951.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.28, a P/E/G ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $109.27 and a 200 day moving average of $116.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.77.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The retailer reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.07. Walmart had a net margin of 3.00% and a return on equity of 21.83%. The firm had revenue of $187.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $186.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.68 EPS. Walmart’s revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Walmart has set its Q3 2027 guidance at 0.620-0.640 EPS and its FY 2027 guidance at 2.800-2.870 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.88 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Latriece Watkins sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.00, for a total transaction of $575,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 110,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,699,680. The trade was a 4.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Christopher Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.60, for a total value of $349,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 563,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $67,940,371.80. This trade represents a 0.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 102,244 shares of company stock valued at $11,112,044. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bell Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 7.4% in the third quarter. Bell Bank now owns 23,907 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,484,000 after buying an additional 1,642 shares during the period. 55 North Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 6.9% during the third quarter. 55 North Private Wealth LLC now owns 9,291 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $966,000 after buying an additional 601 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 11.8% during the third quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 5,073 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $527,000 after buying an additional 535 shares in the last quarter. James T. Borello RIA acquired a new position in Walmart during the third quarter worth about $129,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 9.7% during the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 9,784 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,017,000 after acquiring an additional 864 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Company Profile

Walmart Inc (NASDAQ:WMT) operates a global retail business through a network of supercenters, supermarkets, discount stores, neighborhood markets, warehouse clubs and e-commerce platforms. Its stores and websites sell a broad assortment of merchandise, including groceries, consumables, health and wellness products, apparel, electronics, home goods, toys and other general merchandise.

The company organizes its operations into Walmart U.S., Walmart International and Sam’s Club U.S. Walmart U.S.