Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Sets New 1-Year High at $75.46

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $75.46 and last traded at $75.22, with a volume of 1842705 shares. The stock had previously closed at $74.54.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. DA Davidson raised their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Walmart from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, August 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group raised their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $78.57.

Walmart Trading Up 0.5 %

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $69.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $63.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $602.78 billion, a PE ratio of 31.91, a P/E/G ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.50.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 21.72%. The company had revenue of $169.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $168.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.61 earnings per share. Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, Director S Robson Walton sold 933,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.92, for a total transaction of $60,570,360.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 642,016,611 shares in the company, valued at $41,679,718,386.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Walmart news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 1,132,123 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.02, for a total transaction of $73,610,637.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 647,371,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,092,120,157.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director S Robson Walton sold 933,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.92, for a total transaction of $60,570,360.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 642,016,611 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,679,718,386.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 10,970,613 shares of company stock valued at $723,987,410. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. ICW Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,451 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,436,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Rossmore Private Capital raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Rossmore Private Capital now owns 20,504 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,232,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 21,377 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,370,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Landmark Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Landmark Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,055 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,112,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, MinichMacGregor Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. MinichMacGregor Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,063 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $325,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

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.