Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price Up 0.1% – Here’s What Happened

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) shares rose 0.1% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $91.58 and last traded at $90.90. Approximately 3,112,483 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 13,084,619 shares. The stock had previously closed at $90.79.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com cut Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Walmart from $75.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price objective on Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.49.

Walmart Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $733.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.48, a PEG ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.55. 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’s 50-day moving average is $90.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $80.96.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its 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. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The firm had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.51 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.79, for a total value of $2,411,175.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,843,929 shares in the company, valued at approximately $318,238,881.91. The trade was a 0.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total transaction of $1,215,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 566,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,485,124.40. This represents a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 138,347 shares of company stock valued at $12,311,491 in the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WMT. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. grew its stake in Walmart by 77.3% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Hoese & Co LLP purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.