Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Hits New 12-Month High at $81.09

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $81.09 and last traded at $80.85, with a volume of 797284 shares. The stock had previously closed at $80.67.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the subject of several recent research reports. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com raised shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Walmart from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.19.

Walmart Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $649.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.54, a P/E/G ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.51. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $73.86 and a 200 day moving average of $67.16.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released 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 business had revenue of $169.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $168.56 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 21.72%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.61 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.39, for a total transaction of $1,991,790.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,960,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $270,851,892.78. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 359,616 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.25, for a total value of $28,139,952.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 603,989,702 shares in the company, valued at $47,262,194,181.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.39, for a total value of $1,991,790.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,960,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $270,851,892.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,360,248 shares of company stock valued at $959,228,295 in the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. AHL Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Walmart by 192.1% in the first 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. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its position 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 worth $237,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares during the period. Liberty Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the first quarter valued at $270,000. Commerce Bank boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 189.4% in 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 during the period. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its stake in Walmart by 290.7% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 270,065 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $16,250,000 after purchasing an additional 200,947 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Company Profile

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.