Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price Up 0.4% – Time to Buy?

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) shares traded up 0.4% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $91.85 and last traded at $91.14. 2,315,842 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 10,690,208 shares. The stock had previously closed at $90.81.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on WMT shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $93.69.

Walmart Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $733.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.49, a PEG ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.55. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $89.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $80.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.51 EPS. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $318,238,881.91. This trade represents a 0.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz purchased 5,446 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $91.81 per share, for a total transaction of $499,997.26. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 7,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,577.05. This trade represents a 230.86 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 140,412 shares of company stock valued at $12,478,116 in the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Walmart during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 77.3% in the third quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. Hoese & Co LLP bought a new position in Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

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.