Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) Trading 2.2% Higher – Here’s Why

by · The Markets Daily

Shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT – Get Free Report) traded up 2.2% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $109.35 and last traded at $108.42. 25,367,742 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 1% from the average daily volume of 25,720,781 shares. The stock had previously closed at $106.09.

Key Headlines Impacting Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

  • Positive Sentiment: Walmart is expanding restaurant delivery through a Dunkin’ partnership. Adding Dunkin’ locations to its three-month-old service broadens Walmart’s delivery offering and increases competition with DoorDash and Uber Eats. The initiative could drive customer engagement, delivery volume and potentially higher-margin digital services. Walmart Teams With Dunkin to Expand Restaurant Delivery
  • Positive Sentiment: Walmart and Amazon are turning fraud prevention into a retail offering. The companies are highlighting tools designed to help protect shoppers from scams and suspicious notifications. A stronger fraud-prevention proposition could improve customer trust while creating another potential digital-service opportunity for Walmart. Amazon and Walmart Turn Fraud Prevention Into a Retail Product
  • Positive Sentiment: Haleon secured improved shelf placement at Walmart and Target. Better visibility for brands such as Sensodyne could support sales of health and personal-care products at Walmart and reinforce the retailer’s importance to major consumer-goods suppliers. Haleon Secures Better Shelf Space at Walmart and Target
  • Neutral Sentiment: Executive selling was limited and pre-arranged. EVP Daniel Bartlett sold 3,950 shares for approximately $415,000, reducing his position by 0.63%. Because the transaction occurred under a Rule 10b5-1 plan and he retains more than 622,000 shares, it is a limited signal about management’s outlook. SEC Insider Trading Filing
  • Negative Sentiment: The U.S. Department of Justice expanded its beef-price investigation to Walmart and other major retailers. The inquiry into rising retail beef prices introduces potential legal, compliance and reputational risks, although the reports do not establish wrongdoing by Walmart. DOJ Expands Beef Price Investigation

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BTIG Research cut their target price on shares of Walmart from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Freedom Capital upgraded Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. BNP Paribas Exane reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $137.00 price objective (down from $146.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, August 21st. Guggenheim set a $130.00 price objective on Walmart and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, August 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.88.

View Our Latest Stock Report on WMT

Walmart Trading Up 2.2%

The firm has a market cap of $860.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.14, a P/E/G ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.59. The business’s 50-day moving average is $111.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $119.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The retailer reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $186.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.68 earnings per share. 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. As a group, analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP David Guggina sold 11,978 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.82, for a total transaction of $1,435,203.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 125,067 shares in the company, valued at $14,985,527.94. This represents a 8.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Daniel Bartlett sold 3,950 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.14, for a total value of $415,303.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 622,349 shares in the company, valued at $65,433,773.86. This represents a 0.63% 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 81,242 shares of company stock worth $8,836,446. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in Walmart by 11,189.0% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 755,604,916 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $85,579,813,000 after acquiring an additional 748,911,635 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 6.8% in 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 period. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Walmart in the second quarter worth approximately $7,455,131,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $6,458,529,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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