Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT – Get Free Report) was down 0.8% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $80.41 and last traded at $80.73. Approximately 3,483,829 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 17,418,188 shares. The stock had previously closed at $81.40.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several equities analysts recently weighed in on WMT shares. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Melius Research started coverage on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday. They set a “buy” rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $83.00 target price (up previously from $81.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $80.19.
Walmart Price Performance
The business’s 50-day moving average price is $74.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $67.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $640.17 billion, a PE ratio of 33.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.80.
Walmart (NYSE:WMT – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $168.56 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 21.72%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.61 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current year.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 25,578 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.58, for a total value of $1,728,561.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 390,165 shares in the company, valued at $26,367,350.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 25,578 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.58, for a total value of $1,728,561.24. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 390,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,367,350.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,398 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total transaction of $166,661.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 463,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,239,034.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,317,999 shares of company stock worth $956,341,379. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Trading of Walmart
Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 199.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 411,745,334 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $24,774,717,000 after acquiring an additional 274,229,968 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 181.0% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 56,861,234 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,421,342,000 after acquiring an additional 36,625,314 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 187.4% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 13,303,200 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $800,454,000 after acquiring an additional 8,674,100 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 284.0% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 11,122,273 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $669,227,000 after acquiring an additional 8,225,552 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 184.1% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 12,567,533 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $756,188,000 after acquiring an additional 8,144,393 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is 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.