Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) Shares Down 1.6% – Here’s What Happened

24 Apr 2026, 21:26 by Sarita Garza · The Markets Daily

Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT – Get Free Report) fell 1.6% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $129.28 and last traded at $129.92. 15,935,102 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 43% from the average session volume of 28,062,156 shares. The stock had previously closed at $132.03.

Key Walmart News

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

Positive Sentiment: Walmart filed its 2026 Annual Report and Proxy; CEO John Furner’s first shareholder letter emphasizes confidence in the business model and calls out investments in associates and AI-driven productivity gains. Walmart Releases 2026 Annual Report and Proxy Statement
Positive Sentiment: Walmart is highlighting AI across the business (customer experience, supply chain, hiring/training) in its annual report — a narrative investors view as supporting margin/efficiency upside over time. Walmart Touts People and AI in Annual Report
Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its price target on WMT to $140, signaling continued analyst conviction in Walmart’s growth/defensive mix and providing support for the stock. Morgan Stanley Increases Walmart Price Target
Positive Sentiment: Walmart is expanding beyond core retail: new Upstream Facility Services (maintenance) and continued private‑label (Great Value) redesigns show diversification that could create new revenue streams. Walmart Diversifies Beyond Retail Into Maintenance Services
Neutral Sentiment: Market previews ahead of Q1 FY2027 results discuss factors to watch (traffic, e‑commerce mix, margins); these previews can amplify moves around the print but are informational until results arrive. Walmart’s Q1 2027 Earnings: What to Expect
Neutral Sentiment: Coverage on long‑term competition (Amazon vs. Walmart for the “decision layer”) frames the strategic stakes but doesn’t change fundamentals immediately. Amazon and Walmart Race to Capture Retail’s Decision Layer
Negative Sentiment: Analysts at Seeking Alpha argue Walmart’s valuation is high relative to slowing growth, suggesting limited upside absent acceleration in top‑line or margin expansion. Walmart: Too Expensive Considering Slowing Growth
Negative Sentiment: Another critique points to large ongoing capex that compresses free cash flow and supports a more cautious valuation outlook — a near‑term headwind for investors focused on cash returns. Walmart: Speculative Valuation As Free Cash Flow Is Held Down By Immense Capex

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMT has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $147.00 price target (up from $135.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 20th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $140.00 price target (up from $125.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, February 9th. Tigress Financial set a $150.00 price target on Walmart and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and set a $145.00 price target (up from $128.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, March 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $137.79.

Read Our Latest Research Report on Walmart

Walmart Stock Down 1.6%

The company has a fifty day moving average of $125.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $116.64. The company has a market cap of $1.04 trillion, a PE ratio of 47.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.84 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.79.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The retailer reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.01. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.44% and a net margin of 3.07%.The company had revenue of $190.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $188.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.66 EPS. Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Walmart has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.750-2.850 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 0.610-0.610 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 11th will be paid a $0.2475 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 11th. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.13%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.79, for a total value of $2,555,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 486,764 shares in the company, valued at $62,203,571.56. This trade represents a 3.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.84, for a total value of $1,638,525.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 674,162 shares in the company, valued at approximately $84,162,384.08. The trade was a 1.91% 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 90 days, insiders have sold 243,960 shares of company stock valued at $30,284,661. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Walmart by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 439,957,146 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $49,015,626,000 after purchasing an additional 4,304,436 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 184,805,978 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $19,046,104,000 after buying an additional 2,242,364 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 103,010,709 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $11,426,753,000 after buying an additional 6,517,394 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at $6,458,529,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 40,626,852 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,526,238,000 after buying 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.