Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) Stock Price Up 1.6% Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) shot up 1.6% during trading on Thursday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $135.00 to $140.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Walmart traded as high as $132.46 and last traded at $132.03. 16,312,338 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 42% from the average session volume of 28,208,770 shares. The stock had previously closed at $129.98.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on WMT. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective (up from $125.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $145.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $134.00 price objective (up from $129.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 20th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $140.00 price objective (up from $125.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, February 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $137.79.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 34,082 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.00, for a total transaction of $4,158,004.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 533,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,082,852. The trade was a 6.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Donna Morris sold 76,181 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.79, for a total transaction of $9,430,445.99. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 402,072 shares in the company, valued at $49,772,492.88. This represents a 15.93% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 243,960 shares of company stock valued at $30,284,661. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

More Walmart News

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Sell‑side analysts collectively rate WMT a “Buy,” reinforcing institutional confidence and supporting the stock. Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) Given Consensus Rating of “Buy” by Analysts
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its price target to $140 and kept an “overweight” rating — a direct bullish signal that can lift investor sentiment and flows. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart launched “Upstream Facility Services,” a new maintenance-services unit to sell services to businesses — a move to diversify revenue beyond retail and leverage Walmart’s scale. Walmart Inc. (WMT) Diversifies Beyond Retail Into Maintenance Services
• Positive Sentiment: Sam’s Club added a one‑hour delivery option for members, tightening competition with Costco and enhancing membership value/revenue per member if adoption scales. Walmart’s warehouse club ups the pressure on Costco with a new member perk
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart continues retail partnerships promoting sustainability (Back to the Roots Soil Health set), supporting brand/CSR momentum that can aid customer loyalty. Back to the Roots Scales Regenerative Movement Nationwide; Expanding Pioneering Soil Health Set to Walmart Stores for Year Two
• Neutral Sentiment: Several industry comparisons and analyst‑view pieces (CRRFY vs WMT; Wall Street bullish views) provide context but don’t move near‑term fundamentals. CRRFY vs. WMT: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?
• Neutral Sentiment: Market write‑ups noting recent intraday gains and facts about WMT trading are informational but not new catalysts. Walmart (WMT) Ascends While Market Falls: Some Facts to Note
• Neutral Sentiment: An article about Apple leadership change is unrelated to Walmart’s fundamentals and unlikely to affect WMT. Ternus the Page: Apple’s Engineering Prodigy Takes the Reins
• Negative Sentiment: Industry analysis shows Visa widening its advantage vs. Walmart in market cap/growth narrative — a reminder investors may favor faster‑growing tech/fintech peers over large retailers, which can pressure relative multiple expansion. One Year Later: We Predicted Visa Would Overtake Walmart. Here’s Where That Stands.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.8% in the first quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 36,790 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,572,000 after buying an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 2.6% in the first quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 29,580 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,676,000 after buying an additional 749 shares in the last quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 5.6% in the first quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 24,177 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,011,000 after buying an additional 1,290 shares in the last quarter. Marmo Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Walmart in the first quarter worth $216,000. Finally, Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC increased its position in Walmart by 3.4% in the first quarter. Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC now owns 7,975 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $991,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average is $125.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $116.53. The company has a market cap of $1.05 trillion, a P/E ratio of 48.19, a PEG ratio of 4.83 and a beta of 0.66. 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 (NASDAQ:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The retailer reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.01. Walmart had a net margin of 3.07% and a return on equity of 21.44%. The company had revenue of $190.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $188.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.66 earnings per share. Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Walmart has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.750-2.850 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 0.610-0.610 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Investors of record on Friday, December 11th will be given a $0.2475 dividend. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 11th. Walmart’s payout ratio is currently 36.13%.

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.