Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Shares Up 0.1% Following Insider Buying Activity

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s share price shot up 0.1% during trading on Friday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The stock traded as high as $92.44 and last traded at $91.98. 2,999,419 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 16,845,604 shares. The stock had previously closed at $91.88.

Specifically, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz purchased 5,446 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $91.81 per share, with a total value of $499,997.26. Following the purchase, the director now owns 7,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $716,577.05. The trade was a 230.86 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMT has been the subject of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Walmart from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $88.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $91.88.

Walmart Trading Up 0.7 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market cap of $743.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.96, a PEG ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 0.51. The company’s fifty day moving average is $83.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.93.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.51 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WMT. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 3.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,048,465,000 after acquiring an additional 2,786,061 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,098,203,000 after purchasing an additional 7,200,004 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,848,533,000 after purchasing an additional 2,107,197 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Walmart by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 41,501,782 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,392,658,000 after purchasing an additional 1,480,927 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in Walmart by 1.8% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 36,282,740 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,456,704,000 after purchasing an additional 644,353 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is 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.