Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading 0.1% Higher – Here’s Why

Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) were up 0.1% on Friday . The company traded as high as $80.79 and last traded at $80.54. Approximately 2,479,865 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 17,349,270 shares. The stock had previously closed at $80.43.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Telsey Advisory Group upped their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price objective on Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.62.

Walmart Price Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $75.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The company has a market capitalization of $650.62 billion, a PE ratio of 34.64, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.51.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.72% and a net margin of 2.34%. The firm had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $168.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.61 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total transaction of $209,607,941.31. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 630,501,148 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,781,873,820.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Walmart news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total transaction of $313,228,886.80. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 611,988,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,245,498,149.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total transaction of $209,607,941.31. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 630,501,148 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,781,873,820.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 12,337,670 shares of company stock worth $958,267,937. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Syverson Strege & Co raised its position in shares of Walmart by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 3,377 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $532,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Walmart by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 6,166 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $975,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Pinnacle Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Holdings LLC now owns 11,560 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,822,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co of the South lifted its position in Walmart by 0.5% during the third quarter. Trust Co of the South now owns 25,647 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,071,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the period. Finally, Power Corp of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Power Corp of Canada now owns 30,005 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,730,000 after buying an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is 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.