Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price Up 0.7% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) traded up 0.7% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $92.25 and last traded at $91.94. 3,295,722 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 16,856,260 shares. The stock had previously closed at $91.31.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WMT. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. StockNews.com lowered Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Walmart from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $91.88.

Walmart Stock Up 0.6 %

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $82.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $74.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $738.47 billion, a PE ratio of 37.73, a PEG ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The firm had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.51 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.64, for a total value of $2,348,559.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,873,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $312,322,993.92. This trade represents a 0.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total transaction of $246,360.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 378,165 shares in the company, valued at $31,054,909.80. This represents a 0.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock worth $958,823,647. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Walmart by 3.7% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 41,501,782 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,392,658,000 after buying an additional 1,480,927 shares in the last quarter. Tri Ri Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,450,000. Synovus Financial Corp raised its stake in Walmart by 13.3% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 326,545 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,369,000 after acquiring an additional 38,236 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 162.0% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 128,029 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $10,338,000 after purchasing an additional 79,170 shares during the period. Finally, Arvest Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at $16,228,000. Hedge funds and other 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.