Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading Up 0.5%

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s stock price traded up 0.5% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $77.81 and last traded at $77.61. 3,572,160 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 17,335,314 shares. The stock had previously closed at $77.23.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on WMT shares. HSBC lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $70.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Walmart from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. StockNews.com upgraded Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $78.99.

Walmart Stock Down 0.4 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $619.03 billion, a PE ratio of 32.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $71.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $65.16.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $168.56 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.72% and a net margin of 2.34%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.61 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.48, for a total value of $232,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 384,165 shares in the company, valued at $29,765,104.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.48, for a total value of $232,440.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 384,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,765,104.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.39, for a total transaction of $1,991,790.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,960,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $270,851,892.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 6,309,511 shares of company stock worth $420,703,247 in the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in Walmart in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Northwest Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Walmart by 199.3% during the 1st quarter. Northwest Capital Management Inc now owns 440 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in 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. acquired a new stake in Walmart in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Partnership Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.