Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Shares Up 0.6% – Time to Buy?

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) rose 0.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $98.07 and last traded at $97.92. Approximately 2,977,341 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 14,753,175 shares. The stock had previously closed at $97.29.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on WMT shares. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com downgraded Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Guggenheim upped their target price on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $92.00 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.69.

Walmart Stock Up 0.2 %

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $92.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $82.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company has a market cap of $783.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.02, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.51 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total transaction of $166,658.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,956,404.35. This represents a 0.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 378,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,054,909.80. This represents a 0.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 140,177 shares of company stock valued at $12,895,688. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WMT. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 3.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,048,465,000 after acquiring an additional 2,786,061 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in Walmart by 12.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,098,203,000 after buying an additional 7,200,004 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 4.6% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,848,533,000 after buying an additional 2,107,197 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 3.7% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 41,501,782 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,392,658,000 after buying an additional 1,480,927 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,236,769 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,522,369,000 after acquiring an additional 350,881 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.