Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Shares Up 6.5% Following Strong Earnings

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s share price rose 6.5% on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $74.44 and last traded at $73.11. Approximately 21,314,531 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 22% from the average daily volume of 17,453,625 shares. The stock had previously closed at $68.66.

The retailer reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $169.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $168.56 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.57% and a net margin of 2.88%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.61 earnings per share.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. StockNews.com lowered Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Walmart from $71.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 1st. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on Walmart from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, HSBC lifted their target price on Walmart from $70.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.99.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, Director S Robson Walton sold 3,540,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.55, for a total value of $228,523,137.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 648,504,011 shares in the company, valued at $41,860,933,910.05. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.61, for a total value of $2,056,445.64. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,931,301 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $277,589,163.61. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director S Robson Walton sold 3,540,250 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.55, for a total transaction of $228,523,137.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 648,504,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,860,933,910.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,540,863 shares of company stock worth $954,455,147 over the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WMT. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Northwest Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Walmart by 199.3% during the 1st quarter. Northwest Capital Management Inc now owns 440 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 138.3% in the 2nd quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 429 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Cultivar Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Partnership Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Up 6.6 %

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $68.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $63.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.80. The company has a market cap of $588.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.24, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.50.

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.