Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Reaches New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $96.59 and last traded at $95.25, with a volume of 2362348 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $94.76.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Guggenheim increased their target price on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.69.

Walmart Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $782.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.96, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $92.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.49.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.51 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total value of $246,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 378,165 shares in the company, valued at $31,054,909.80. This represents a 0.79 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.62, for a total value of $2,697,464.88. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,766,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $348,852,396.42. This represents a 0.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 140,177 shares of company stock worth $12,895,688. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. boosted its position in Walmart by 77.3% during the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Hoese & Co LLP bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. 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.