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

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) shot up 0.7% on Friday . The company traded as high as $92.08 and last traded at $91.97. 6,054,865 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 56% from the average session volume of 13,731,502 shares. The stock had previously closed at $91.30.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Barclays raised their target price on Walmart from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. DZ Bank cut Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $91.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.49.

Walmart Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $738.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company’s fifty day moving average is $90.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.03.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.51 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total value of $246,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total value of $2,689,601.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,785,702 shares in the company, valued at $349,609,579.70. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 138,347 shares of company stock worth $12,311,491. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,048,465,000 after acquiring an additional 2,786,061 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,098,203,000 after purchasing an additional 7,200,004 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 4.6% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,848,533,000 after purchasing an additional 2,107,197 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 3.7% during 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 during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.8% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 36,282,740 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,456,704,000 after buying an additional 644,353 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.