Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Shares Up 0.3% – What’s Next?

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s stock price shot up 0.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $94.57 and last traded at $93.87. 4,818,620 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 16,903,357 shares. The stock had previously closed at $93.55.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Walmart from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. DZ Bank downgraded Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $91.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $93.69.

Walmart Stock Up 0.5 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a market cap of $754.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.57, a P/E/G ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.54. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $86.99 and its 200-day moving average is $77.64.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. 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 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.51 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.64, for a total value of $2,348,559.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,873,053 shares in the company, valued at $312,322,993.92. This trade represents a 0.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.04, for a total value of $1,063,650.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 606,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,123,611.60. The trade was a 2.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 143,412 shares of company stock valued at $12,228,259 over the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS grew its stake in Walmart by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS now owns 85,424 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,898,000 after purchasing an additional 1,907 shares during the period. 1ST Source Bank grew its position in Walmart by 1.6% during the third quarter. 1ST Source Bank now owns 65,133 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,259,000 after buying an additional 998 shares during the period. Alternative Investment Advisors LLC. purchased a new stake in Walmart during the third quarter worth about $318,000. DGS Capital Management LLC raised its position in Walmart by 18.4% in the third quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 19,580 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,581,000 after acquiring an additional 3,048 shares during the period. Finally, Copley Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart in the third quarter worth about $303,000. 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.