Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price Up 2.6% – Time to Buy?

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) shot up 2.6% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $92.68 and last traded at $92.68. 8,992,427 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 47% from the average session volume of 17,090,088 shares. The stock had previously closed at $90.35.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $93.69.

Walmart Trading Up 0.1 %

The business has a 50 day moving average of $88.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $78.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $745.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.08, a P/E/G ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.85.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz acquired 5,446 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $91.81 per share, for a total transaction of $499,997.26. Following the purchase, the director now owns 7,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,577.05. The trade was a 230.86 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.79, for a total transaction of $2,411,175.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,843,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $318,238,881.91. The trade was a 0.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 101,163 shares of company stock worth $8,816,049 over the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Walmart by 77.3% during the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Hoese & Co LLP bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC bought a new position in Walmart during the third quarter valued at about $37,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by 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.