Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading Up 0.6% – Time to Buy?

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s share price was up 0.6% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $92.25 and last traded at $91.88. Approximately 14,358,861 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 15% from the average daily volume of 16,991,728 shares. The stock had previously closed at $91.31.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on WMT. Melius Research initiated coverage on Walmart in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Walmart from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Walmart from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.88.

Walmart Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $82.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $74.48. The company has a market capitalization of $738.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.66, a P/E/G ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion for 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%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.51 EPS. Analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 611,988,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,245,498,149.60. The trade was a 0.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.48, for a total value of $232,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 384,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,765,104.20. This trade represents a 0.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock valued at $958,823,647 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 479.6% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 18,479,259 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,492,200,000 after acquiring an additional 15,290,936 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 12.9% during the 3rd 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 period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 8,814.4% during 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 acquiring an additional 6,885,106 shares during the period. Boston Partners boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 202.5% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 9,431,662 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $567,499,000 after purchasing an additional 6,314,185 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,048,465,000 after purchasing an additional 2,786,061 shares during the last quarter. 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.