Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT – Get Free Report)’s stock price was up 0.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $65.17 and last traded at $65.00. Approximately 1,986,014 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 18,415,578 shares. The stock had previously closed at $64.92.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
WMT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Walmart from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on Walmart from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Citigroup upped their target price on Walmart from $63.33 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.01.
Walmart Price Performance
The stock has a market cap of $522.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.49. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $60.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $57.06.
Walmart (NYSE:WMT – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $161.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $159.57 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.57% and a net margin of 2.88%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.49 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.26, for a total value of $180,780.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 524,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,613,179.38. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.26, for a total transaction of $180,780.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 524,613 shares in the company, valued at $31,613,179.38. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 345,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.93, for a total transaction of $21,020,850.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 652,044,261 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,729,056,822.73. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 6,635,908 shares of company stock worth $425,074,459. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Institutional Trading of Walmart
A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WMT. Cambridge Trust Co. raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 283.9% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. now owns 748,899 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $45,061,000 after acquiring an additional 553,839 shares in the last quarter. Peninsula Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 1st quarter worth $240,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 1st quarter worth about $3,049,000. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL raised its position in shares of Walmart by 196.2% during the 1st quarter. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL now owns 24,597 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,480,000 after buying an additional 16,292 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Soltis Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the 1st quarter valued at about $295,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
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.