Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading 0.8% Higher – Here’s Why

Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) shot up 0.8% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $98.71 and last traded at $98.25. 2,775,717 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 14,567,879 shares. The stock had previously closed at $97.50.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WMT. Tigress Financial raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Bank of America increased their price target on Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. StockNews.com cut shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.69.

Walmart Trading Up 1.1 %

The company has a market cap of $792.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.47, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $92.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $82.79.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.51 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 5,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.45, for a total value of $512,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 87,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,993,095.80. This trade represents a 6.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.44, for a total transaction of $2,663,098.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,814,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $348,825,769.20. This represents a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 140,177 shares of company stock worth $12,895,688 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL now owns 25,537 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,729,000 after purchasing an additional 940 shares during the period. RiverFront Investment Group LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 5.4% during the second quarter. RiverFront Investment Group LLC now owns 516,256 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $34,956,000 after purchasing an additional 26,258 shares in the last quarter. SRN Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 2.8% in the second quarter. SRN Advisors LLC now owns 19,150 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,297,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the second quarter valued at $829,000. Finally, Brown Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,708,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

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.