Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) Shares Down 1.1% – Time to Sell?

Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT)’s share price dropped 1.1% during trading on Thursday. The company traded as low as $127.39 and last traded at $127.72. 41,568,067 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 67% from the average session volume of 24,872,256 shares. The stock had previously closed at $129.17.

More Walmart News

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart is expanding its drone-delivery partnership with Zipline, which has raised $1.5 billion at a reported $21.5 billion valuation. The move could support faster delivery and strengthen Walmart’s logistics capabilities. Zipline valuation and Walmart drone partnership
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart’s partnership with Meta to bring the Muse AI shopping agent to its online retail experience could help customers discover and buy products through Meta platforms. Walmart and Meta’s AI shopping agent
• Positive Sentiment: A reported $6 billion Symbotic deal to automate warehouses could improve operational efficiency over time. Walmart warehouse automation deal
• Neutral Sentiment: Walmart CTO Suresh Kumar sold 166,342 shares, while EVP Daniel Bartlett sold 3,346 shares. The disclosed trades were made under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans, which may temper their significance as a signal about management’s outlook. Report on Suresh Kumar’s share sale
• Negative Sentiment: Walmart’s high valuation—cited in recent commentary at roughly 45 times earnings—could leave the stock vulnerable if growth disappoints. One article also notes that management previously warned of a possible slowdown. Walmart valuation and outlook commentary
• Negative Sentiment: AI shopping agents could put pressure on Walmart’s advertising revenue and access to customer data if they change how shoppers browse and purchase. Walmart’s Meta partnership offers a way to participate in this shift, but the business risks remain. AI shopping agents and retailer advertising risks

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on WMT shares. Truist Financial set a $114.00 price target on Walmart and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Walmart in a research note on Friday, October 30th. They issued a “strong-buy” rating on the stock. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Walmart from $141.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $125.00 price objective (down from $140.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $137.00 price objective (down from $146.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $132.41.

Walmart Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $111.56 and a 200-day moving average of $118.51. The stock has a market cap of $1.01 trillion, a PE ratio of 46.11, a PEG ratio of 4.51 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, EVP Latriece Watkins sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.00, for a total value of $575,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 110,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,699,680. This trade represents a 4.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Christopher Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.60, for a total transaction of $349,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 563,353 shares in the company, valued at $67,940,371.80. This represents a 0.51% decrease in their position. 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 268,222 shares of company stock worth $31,604,051. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WMT. Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart during the second quarter worth approximately $6,451,000. Advisortrust Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 20.2% in the 1st quarter. Advisortrust Partners LLC now owns 67,142 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,344,000 after acquiring an additional 11,283 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 2nd quarter valued at $7,455,131,000. HORAN Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 55.7% during the 1st quarter. HORAN Wealth LLC now owns 81,544 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $9,931,000 after acquiring an additional 29,184 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park National Corp OH lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 282.9% during the 3rd quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 119,865 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $12,456,000 after acquiring an additional 88,562 shares in the last quarter. 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.