Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading 2.6% Higher – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) traded up 2.6% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $92.68 and last traded at $92.68. 8,992,427 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 47% from the average session volume of 17,090,088 shares. The stock had previously closed at $90.35.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Walmart from $89.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Walmart from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Two equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $93.69.

Walmart Trading Up 0.1 %

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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $88.40 and a 200-day moving average of $78.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $745.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.54.

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

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was 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 owns 3,843,929 shares in the company, valued at $318,238,881.91. This trade represents a 0.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.47, for a total value of $277,410.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 375,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,691,507.55. The trade was a 0.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 101,163 shares of company stock worth $8,816,049. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 77.3% during 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. Hoese & Co LLP purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. 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.