Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading 0.1% Higher – Here’s Why

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s share price traded up 0.1% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $80.79 and last traded at $80.54. 2,479,865 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 17,349,270 shares. The stock had previously closed at $80.43.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $83.00 price objective (up previously from $81.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, August 16th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Walmart from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Walmart from $81.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.62.

Walmart Trading Up 0.7 %

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $75.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The company has a market capitalization of $651.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.51.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total transaction of $209,607,941.31. Following the sale, the insider now owns 630,501,148 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,781,873,820.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Walmart news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total value of $209,607,941.31. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 630,501,148 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,781,873,820.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,398 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total value of $166,661.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 463,871 shares in the company, valued at $32,239,034.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,337,670 shares of company stock worth $958,267,937 over the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WMT. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in Walmart in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Northwest Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 199.3% during the 1st quarter. Northwest Capital Management Inc now owns 440 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 293 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 138.3% during the 2nd quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 429 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Cultivar Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Able Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.