Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Reaches New 12-Month High After Earnings Beat

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $87.62 and last traded at $86.92, with a volume of 4335722 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $84.08.

The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 21.72%. Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.51 EPS.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Walmart from $66.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Roth Mkm increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $71.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $83.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Walmart from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $86.98.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 611,988,318 shares in the company, valued at $47,245,498,149.60. This represents a 0.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total transaction of $246,360.00. Following the sale, 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 sold a total of 12,337,337 shares of company stock worth $958,823,647 over the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WMT. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 181.0% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 56,861,234 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,421,342,000 after acquiring an additional 36,625,314 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 479.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 18,479,259 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,492,200,000 after buying an additional 15,290,936 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 284.0% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 11,122,273 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $669,227,000 after buying an additional 8,225,552 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised 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 valued at $5,098,203,000 after buying an additional 7,200,004 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 8,814.4% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Trading Up 3.0 %

The company has a 50-day moving average of $81.58 and a 200 day moving average of $73.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The company has a market cap of $696.11 billion, a PE ratio of 45.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.51.

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.