Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price Up 0.1% – Here’s What Happened

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s share price was up 0.1% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $91.58 and last traded at $90.90. Approximately 3,112,483 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 13,084,619 shares. The stock had previously closed at $90.79.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.49.

Walmart Trading Up 0.8 %

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $91.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $739.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.76, a P/E/G ratio of 4.41 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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. Walmart’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.51 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.79, for a total value of $2,411,175.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,843,929 shares in the company, valued at approximately $318,238,881.91. This represents a 0.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total transaction of $166,658.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 460,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,956,404.35. This trade represents a 0.40 % 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 valued at $12,478,149 in the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 479.6% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 18,479,259 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,492,200,000 after purchasing an additional 15,290,936 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 12.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,098,203,000 after buying an additional 7,200,004 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 8,814.4% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 6,963,218 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $562,280,000 after buying an additional 6,885,106 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 3.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,048,465,000 after buying an additional 2,786,061 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 4.6% during 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 acquiring an additional 2,107,197 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.