Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Shares Up 0.1% on Strong Earnings

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s share price shot up 0.1% on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $87.09 and last traded at $86.72. 5,598,800 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 67% from the average session volume of 16,784,646 shares. The stock had previously closed at $86.60.

The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 21.72%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.51 earnings per share.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $66.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Roth Mkm upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $71.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $88.08.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,375,563 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.96, for a total value of $182,823,328.48. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 619,646,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,687,998,026.24. The trade was a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total value of $313,228,886.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 611,988,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,245,498,149.60. The trade was a 0.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock valued at $958,823,647. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in Walmart in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the third quarter worth $26,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 138.3% during the second quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 429 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Cultivar Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the second quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 253.0% in the 1st quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC now owns 526 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Down 0.4 %

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $81.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $73.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market cap of $693.54 billion, a PE ratio of 45.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.19 and a beta of 0.51.

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.