Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price Up 1.2% – Here’s Why

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) was up 1.2% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $91.12 and last traded at $91.04. Approximately 2,239,850 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 8,300,335 shares. The stock had previously closed at $90.00.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WMT. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. DZ Bank cut shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $91.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price target on Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Melius Research began coverage on Walmart in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price target on Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $93.69.

Walmart Trading Up 1.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $89.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $79.47. The company has a market cap of $730.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.54.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. Walmart’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.51 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.79, for a total value of $2,411,175.96. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,843,929 shares in the company, valued at $318,238,881.91. The trade was a 0.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,065 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.69, for a total transaction of $166,624.85. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 457,493 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,915,110.17. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 140,412 shares of company stock valued at $12,478,116. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WMT. Brophy Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,072,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,848,533,000 after buying an additional 2,107,197 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at about $541,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Walmart by 1.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,236,769 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,522,369,000 after buying an additional 350,881 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oxbow Advisors LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 45.0% during the 3rd quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 28,453 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,298,000 after purchasing an additional 8,834 shares in the last quarter. 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.