Key Points
- Walmart CEO John Furner sold 13,125 shares on May 21 at an average price of $124.08, for total proceeds of about $1.63 million. The sale was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.
- After the transaction, Furner still owned 661,037 shares valued at roughly $82.0 million, and the sale reduced his stake by just 1.95%.
- Walmart recently reported earnings in line with expectations with $0.66 EPS and $177.75 billion in revenue, while analysts remain broadly positive with a consensus Moderate Buy rating and an average price target of $138.71.
Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT - Get Free Report) EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.92, for a total value of $359,368.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 577,853 shares in the company, valued at $71,607,543.76. This trade represents a 0.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.
Christopher James Nicholas also recently made the following trade(s):
- On Thursday, April 16th, Christopher James Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of Walmart stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.72, for a total value of $361,688.00.
Walmart Trading Down 0.9%
Shares of WMT stock opened at $120.27 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $958.67 billion, a PE ratio of 42.20, a P/E/G ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.65. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $93.43 and a 1-year high of $135.15. The business has a 50-day moving average of $126.77 and a 200 day moving average of $120.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.24.
Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.66. The company had revenue of $177.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $174.84 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.25% and a net margin of 3.13%.Walmart's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.61 EPS. Walmart has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.750-2.850 EPS and its Q2 2027 guidance at 0.720-0.740 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current year.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $137.00 target price (up from $130.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, May 15th. KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday. Erste Group Bank upgraded Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Evercore restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $138.71.
View Our Latest Report on Walmart
Walmart News Roundup
Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Walmart posted solid first-quarter results, with revenue of $177.8 billion and EPS of $0.66, while e-commerce sales rose 26% and advertising revenue jumped 37%, highlighting continued strength in digital and membership-driven businesses.
- Positive Sentiment: Several analysts remained constructive after earnings: Bank of America reiterated a Buy rating and said Walmart is well positioned to gain share in a price-sensitive environment, while BTIG and BNP Paribas Exane also kept positive ratings despite modestly trimming price targets.
- Neutral Sentiment: Walmart disclosed pre-arranged insider sales by CEO John Furner and EVP Christopher James Nicholas, but both transactions were made under 10b5-1 plans, which typically limits how much investors read into them.
- Neutral Sentiment: News reports also noted leadership changes, including the departure of Sam’s Club COO Tom Ward and U.S. stores EVP Cedric Clark, adding some uncertainty but not appearing to change the company’s near-term operating outlook.
- Negative Sentiment: Shares weakened after Walmart issued second-quarter EPS guidance below consensus and reaffirmed full-year targets that also came in below Wall Street expectations, prompting concerns that margin pressure could continue.
- Negative Sentiment: Management said elevated fuel prices are pressuring both consumers and Walmart’s own costs, reinforcing worries that spending could soften and profitability could stay under pressure in the coming quarters.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart
Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Walmart by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 439,957,146 shares of the retailer's stock worth $49,015,626,000 after buying an additional 4,304,436 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 184,805,978 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $19,046,104,000 after purchasing an additional 2,242,364 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 103,010,709 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $11,426,753,000 after purchasing an additional 6,517,394 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $6,458,529,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 40,626,852 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,526,238,000 after purchasing an additional 328,229 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.
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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