Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price Up 0.4%

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) shares were up 0.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $79.18 and last traded at $79.12. Approximately 2,954,071 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 17,366,639 shares. The stock had previously closed at $78.84.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMT has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $63.33 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $83.00 target price (up previously from $81.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, August 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on Walmart from $64.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $78.99.

Walmart Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market cap of $647.88 billion, a PE ratio of 34.49, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.51. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $72.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.09.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 21.72%. The business had revenue of $169.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $168.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.61 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 8,791 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.00, for a total transaction of $597,788.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 94,415 shares in the company, valued at $6,420,220. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 8,791 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.00, for a total transaction of $597,788.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 94,415 shares in the company, valued at $6,420,220. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total transaction of $209,607,941.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 630,501,148 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,781,873,820.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 10,203,360 shares of company stock worth $788,678,803. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in Walmart in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Northwest Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Walmart by 199.3% in the first quarter. Northwest Capital Management Inc now owns 440 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 138.3% in the second quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 429 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Cultivar Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Able Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

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.