Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading 1.4% Higher – Should You Buy?

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) traded up 1.4% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $92.21 and last traded at $92.06. 3,807,853 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 60% from the average session volume of 9,576,908 shares. The stock had previously closed at $90.78.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on WMT shares. Melius Research assumed coverage on Walmart in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $93.69.

Walmart Stock Up 0.9 %

The company has a market capitalization of $736.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.61, a PEG ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.55. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $89.76 and its 200 day moving average is $80.13.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The business had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.51 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz bought 5,446 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $91.81 per share, with a total value of $499,997.26. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 7,805 shares in the company, valued at $716,577.05. This trade represents a 230.86 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,065 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.69, for a total transaction of $166,624.85. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 457,493 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,915,110.17. This 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. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart during the third quarter worth $26,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. increased its stake in Walmart by 77.3% during the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Hoese & Co LLP acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. 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.