Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Shares Up 0.8% – What’s Next?

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s stock price shot up 0.8% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $96.18 and last traded at $96.08. 6,804,868 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 60% from the average session volume of 16,863,406 shares. The stock had previously closed at $95.30.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Walmart from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. StockNews.com cut shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. DZ Bank lowered shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $91.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Walmart from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Walmart from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $92.11.

Walmart Trading Up 0.5 %

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $84.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $75.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $769.66 billion, a PE ratio of 39.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued 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. The firm had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.51 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,063 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.76, for a total transaction of $166,607.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 459,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,113,904.08. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total value of $313,228,886.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 611,988,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,245,498,149.60. The trade was a 0.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 7,300,460 shares of company stock worth $570,820,065. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. OLD National Bancorp IN raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 2.0% in the second quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 94,853 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,422,000 after acquiring an additional 1,871 shares during the last quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA raised its position in shares of Walmart by 26.6% in the second quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 2,074 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $140,000 after buying an additional 436 shares during the last quarter. Lion Street Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 180.6% during the 2nd quarter. Lion Street Advisors LLC now owns 4,739 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $321,000 after purchasing an additional 3,050 shares during the period. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the second quarter valued at $270,000. Finally, First National Corp MA ADV purchased a new position in Walmart during the second quarter worth about $220,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.