Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading 0.7% Higher – What’s Next?

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s share price rose 0.7% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $92.25 and last traded at $91.94. Approximately 3,295,722 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 16,856,260 shares. The stock had previously closed at $91.31.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on WMT. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Barclays increased their target price on Walmart from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.88.

Walmart Trading Up 0.6 %

The firm has a market cap of $738.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.71, a P/E/G ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 0.51. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $83.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $74.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.51 earnings per share. Walmart’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total value of $209,607,941.31. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 630,501,148 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,781,873,820.76. This trade represents a 0.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total transaction of $313,228,886.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 611,988,318 shares in the company, 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. Insiders sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock valued at $958,823,647 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC lifted 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 worth $29,000 after purchasing 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. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. grew its holdings 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 worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hoese & Co LLP purchased a new position in Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. 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.