Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading Up 0.1% on Insider Buying Activity

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s stock price shot up 0.1% during mid-day trading on Friday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The stock traded as high as $92.44 and last traded at $91.98. 2,999,419 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 16,845,604 shares. The stock had previously closed at $91.88.

Specifically, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz acquired 5,446 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was bought at an average price of $91.81 per share, with a total value of $499,997.26. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 7,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $716,577.05. This trade represents a 230.86 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on WMT. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. StockNews.com cut Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $91.88.

Walmart Stock Up 0.7 %

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $83.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $743.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 0.51.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. Walmart’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.51 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. American Trust raised its holdings in Walmart by 2.3% in the third quarter. American Trust now owns 11,085 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $895,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Old North State Trust LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Old North State Trust LLC now owns 14,124 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,141,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 41,501,782 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,392,658,000 after acquiring an additional 1,480,927 shares in the last quarter. Tri Ri Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,450,000. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp boosted its stake in Walmart by 13.3% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 326,545 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,369,000 after acquiring an additional 38,236 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.