Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Hits New 12-Month High After Earnings Beat

Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $87.62 and last traded at $86.92, with a volume of 4335722 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $84.08.

The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.72% and a net margin of 2.34%. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.51 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Walmart from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $66.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $91.51.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,063 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 459,558 shares in the company, valued at $37,113,904.08. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.48, for a total value of $232,440.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 384,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,765,104.20. The trade was a 0.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock valued at $958,823,647 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Oxbow Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 45.0% in the 3rd quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 28,453 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,298,000 after buying an additional 8,834 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its position in shares of Walmart by 21.9% in the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 587,001 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $47,400,000 after purchasing an additional 105,430 shares in the last quarter. Whalerock Point Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 213.5% in the first quarter. Whalerock Point Partners LLC now owns 29,613 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,782,000 after purchasing an additional 20,167 shares during the last quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 201.0% in the first quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 2,092 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $126,000 after purchasing an additional 1,397 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 14.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,235,504 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $503,517,000 after buying an additional 809,352 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Up 0.7 %

The business has a 50-day moving average of $81.75 and a 200-day moving average of $73.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $700.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.33, a P/E/G ratio of 4.19 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.

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.