Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Hits New 52-Week High at $76.45

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $76.45 and last traded at $76.13, with a volume of 887898 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $76.03.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WMT. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Walmart from $63.33 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Walmart from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Walmart from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Walmart from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on Walmart from $71.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.64.

Walmart Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $612.11 billion, a PE ratio of 32.57, a PEG ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The business has a 50-day moving average of $70.02 and a 200 day moving average of $64.36.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $168.56 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.72% and a net margin of 2.34%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.61 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 1,250,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.11, for a total value of $82,637,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 640,532,611 shares in the company, valued at $42,345,610,913.21. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.61, for a total value of $2,056,445.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,931,301 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $277,589,163.61. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 1,250,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.11, for a total value of $82,637,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 640,532,611 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,345,610,913.21. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 6,332,089 shares of company stock worth $422,145,654 over the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC. boosted its stake in Walmart by 1,159.6% during the fourth quarter. GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC. now owns 361,920 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $57,057,000 after buying an additional 333,187 shares during the last quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. boosted its stake in Walmart by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 15,916 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,509,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. WealthTrust Axiom LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. WealthTrust Axiom LLC now owns 3,200 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $504,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP boosted its stake in Walmart by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 14,832 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,338,000 after buying an additional 1,884 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alpha Cubed Investments LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 9,291 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,465,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

About Walmart

Walmart Inc engages in the operation of retail, wholesale, other units, and eCommerce worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam's Club. It operates supercenters, supermarkets, hypermarkets, warehouse clubs, cash and carry stores, and discount stores under Walmart and Walmart Neighborhood Market brands; membership-only warehouse clubs; ecommerce websites, such as walmart.com.mx, walmart.ca, flipkart.com, PhonePe and other sites; and mobile commerce applications.