Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) were down 1.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $79.61 and last traded at $79.70. Approximately 4,460,049 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 17,322,848 shares. The stock had previously closed at $80.56.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. DA Davidson upped their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Tigress Financial increased their target price on Walmart from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Barclays lifted their price target on Walmart from $66.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. HSBC increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $70.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $78.99.

Walmart Stock Up 0.5 %

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $73.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm has a market cap of $635.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.51.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted 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. The firm had revenue of $169.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $168.56 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.72% and a net margin of 2.34%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.61 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,063 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.76, for a total transaction of $166,607.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 459,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,113,904.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,063 shares of the company’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 value of $166,607.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 459,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,113,904.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now owns 611,988,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,245,498,149.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,205,423 shares of company stock valued at $788,845,411 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Able Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Tidemark LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $48,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart during the first quarter valued at $25,000. 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.