Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading Up 1% – Here’s Why

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) shares were up 1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $90.74 and last traded at $90.43. Approximately 4,226,960 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 16,860,635 shares. The stock had previously closed at $89.50.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on WMT shares. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. StockNews.com cut Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Walmart from $89.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Walmart from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.88.

Walmart Price Performance

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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $82.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $74.48. The stock has a market cap of $738.47 billion, a PE ratio of 37.65, a P/E/G ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.51.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.51 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total value of $246,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 378,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,054,909.80. This trade represents a 0.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.64, for a total transaction of $2,348,559.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,873,053 shares in the company, valued at $312,322,993.92. This represents a 0.75 % 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 worth $958,823,647 in the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WMT. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in Walmart during the first quarter worth $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 138.3% during the 2nd quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 429 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the period. Cultivar Capital Inc. bought a new position in Walmart during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. raised its position in Walmart by 77.3% in the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Company Profile

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.