Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Shares Up 0.6% – Here’s What Happened

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) rose 0.6% on Monday . The company traded as high as $82.91 and last traded at $82.71. Approximately 2,101,987 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 16,776,076 shares. The stock had previously closed at $82.19.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on WMT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. StockNews.com raised shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Truist Financial upgraded shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $76.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $82.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $83.89.

Walmart Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The company has a market cap of $663.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.08, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.51. The business has a fifty day moving average of $79.80 and a 200 day moving average of $71.25.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.72% and a net margin of 2.34%. The firm had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $168.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.61 EPS. Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total value of $313,228,886.80. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 611,988,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,245,498,149.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.04, for a total value of $1,063,650.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 606,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,123,611.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total value of $313,228,886.80. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 611,988,318 shares in the company, valued at $47,245,498,149.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,334,337 shares of company stock worth $958,577,287 in the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 199.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 411,745,334 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $24,774,717,000 after purchasing an additional 274,229,968 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Walmart by 181.0% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 56,861,234 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,421,342,000 after acquiring an additional 36,625,314 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 644,353 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in Walmart by 3.0% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 16,766,325 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,353,881,000 after acquiring an additional 484,196 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Walmart by 5.4% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 16,184,945 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,095,946,000 after acquiring an additional 834,005 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.