Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Shares Up 1.2% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) traded up 1.2% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $91.12 and last traded at $91.04. 2,239,850 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 8,300,335 shares. The stock had previously closed at $90.00.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on WMT. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Walmart from $83.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $93.69.

Walmart Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock has a market cap of $729.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.26, a P/E/G ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $89.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $79.72.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,065 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.69, for a total value of $166,624.85. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 457,493 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,915,110.17. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.79, for a total value of $2,411,175.96. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,843,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $318,238,881.91. The trade was a 0.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 140,412 shares of company stock valued at $12,478,116 in the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WMT. New York Life Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 587,534 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $39,782,000 after buying an additional 1,883 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 7.5% in the 2nd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 692,053 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $46,859,000 after buying an additional 48,205 shares in the last quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC increased its position in Walmart by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC now owns 6,824 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $462,000 after buying an additional 280 shares during the period. Opes Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the second quarter worth $224,000. Finally, Narwhal Capital Management boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 11.1% in the second quarter. Narwhal Capital Management now owns 15,450 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,046,000 after acquiring an additional 1,546 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.