Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Sets New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $96.59 and last traded at $95.25, with a volume of 2362348 shares. The stock had previously closed at $94.76.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WMT. UBS Group raised their target price on Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Tigress Financial raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Two equities research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.69.

Walmart Stock Up 0.6 %

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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $92.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $82.29. The company has a market cap of $765.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.14, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.51 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.62, for a total transaction of $2,697,464.88. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,766,491 shares in the company, valued at $348,852,396.42. This represents a 0.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total value of $246,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 378,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,054,909.80. The trade was a 0.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 140,177 shares of company stock worth $12,895,688 in the last ninety days. Company 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 stock. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Walmart during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. lifted its position in Walmart by 77.3% in the third quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hoese & Co LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

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.