Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price Up 0.3%

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s share price shot up 0.3% on Friday . The company traded as high as $76.68 and last traded at $76.63. 2,062,015 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 17,291,238 shares. The stock had previously closed at $76.42.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on WMT. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $63.33 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. 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. KeyCorp upped their target price on Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $78.64.

Walmart Stock Up 1.1 %

The company has a market capitalization of $621.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.00, 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $70.55 and a 200-day moving average of $64.67.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $169.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.61 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.19, for a total transaction of $207,570.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 387,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,787,946.35. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.60, for a total transaction of $926,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 632,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,648,499. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.19, for a total transaction of $207,570.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 387,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,787,946.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 6,332,089 shares of company stock valued at $422,145,654 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. AHL Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 192.1% in the 1st quarter. AHL Investment Management Inc. now owns 24,000 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,444,000 after buying an additional 15,785 shares during the last quarter. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. now owns 7,816 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,232,000 after acquiring an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 38.9% during the fourth quarter. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,501 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $237,000 after acquiring an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. Liberty Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 1st quarter valued at about $270,000. Finally, Commerce Bank increased its stake in Walmart by 189.4% during the 1st quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 917,625 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $55,213,000 after purchasing an additional 600,521 shares in 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.