Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading 0.6% Higher – What’s Next?

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s share price traded up 0.6% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $98.07 and last traded at $97.92. 2,977,341 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 14,753,175 shares. The stock had previously closed at $97.29.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Piper Sandler lifted 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. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Walmart from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Roth Mkm upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.69.

Walmart Stock Up 0.2 %

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $92.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $82.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $783.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its 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. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.51 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.96, for a total value of $1,220,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 568,626 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,859,472.96. The trade was a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.62, for a total transaction of $2,697,464.88. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,766,491 shares in the company, valued at $348,852,396.42. This represents a 0.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 140,177 shares of company stock worth $12,895,688 in the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brophy Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth $2,072,000. Bank of New Hampshire grew its position in shares of Walmart by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 47,949 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,332,000 after purchasing an additional 5,786 shares during the last quarter. Iowa State Bank increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 213.8% in the fourth quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 26,807 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,422,000 after purchasing an additional 18,263 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,848,533,000 after purchasing an additional 2,107,197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $541,000. 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.