Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Shares Up 0.6% – Here’s Why

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) shares shot up 0.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $94.98 and last traded at $94.98. 5,075,946 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 16,835,244 shares. The stock had previously closed at $94.45.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WMT. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Melius Research assumed coverage on Walmart in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $92.11.

Walmart Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $768.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.98, a P/E/G ratio of 4.44 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company has a fifty day moving average of $84.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $75.57.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.51 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.97, for a total transaction of $242,910.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 381,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,862,930.05. This represents a 0.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,063 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.76, for a total transaction of $166,607.88. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 459,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,113,904.08. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 7,300,460 shares of company stock valued at $570,820,065 over the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 4.6% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,848,533,000 after acquiring an additional 2,107,197 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.1% in 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 buying an additional 350,881 shares during the last quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 45.0% during the third quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 28,453 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,298,000 after buying an additional 8,834 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its position in Walmart by 21.9% in the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 587,001 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $47,400,000 after acquiring an additional 105,430 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Walmart by 14.9% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,235,504 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $503,517,000 after acquiring an additional 809,352 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.