Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading Up 1.4% – What’s Next?

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) was up 1.4% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $91.83 and last traded at $91.66. Approximately 2,887,078 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 17,063,391 shares. The stock had previously closed at $90.35.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on WMT shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Walmart from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Walmart has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $93.69.

Walmart Stock Up 2.6 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $88.16 and a 200-day moving average of $78.54. The firm has a market cap of $744.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.54.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The firm had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.51 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 5,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.45, for a total transaction of $512,120.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 87,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,993,095.80. This represents a 6.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.47, for a total value of $277,410.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 375,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,691,507.55. This trade represents a 0.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 101,163 shares of company stock worth $8,816,049 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 3.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,048,465,000 after purchasing an additional 2,786,061 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,098,203,000 after purchasing an additional 7,200,004 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,848,533,000 after buying an additional 2,107,197 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Walmart by 3.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 41,501,782 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,392,658,000 after buying an additional 1,480,927 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in Walmart by 1.8% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 36,282,740 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,456,704,000 after buying an additional 644,353 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.