Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading 1% Higher

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s share price shot up 1% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $78.86 and last traded at $78.80. 5,673,044 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 67% from the average session volume of 17,370,746 shares. The stock had previously closed at $78.04.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Tigress Financial increased their target price on Walmart from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price objective on Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. HSBC increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $70.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.99.

Walmart Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $73.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.65. The company has a market cap of $633.91 billion, a PE ratio of 33.72, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.80.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.72% and a net margin of 2.34%. The business had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $168.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.61 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 359,616 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.25, for a total transaction of $28,139,952.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 603,989,702 shares in the company, valued at $47,262,194,181.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,063 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 459,558 shares in the company, valued at $37,113,904.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 359,616 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.25, for a total value of $28,139,952.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 603,989,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,262,194,181.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 12,369,039 shares of company stock valued at $959,826,083. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Landmark Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 1.0% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Syverson Strege & Co raised its stake in Walmart by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 3,377 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $532,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Amussen Hunsaker Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Amussen Hunsaker Associates LLC now owns 15,979 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,519,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Per Stirling Capital Management LLC. boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Per Stirling Capital Management LLC. now owns 4,009 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $632,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 6,166 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $975,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.