Walmart (NYSE:WMT) is up 0.4%

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT – Get Free Report) shares rose 0.4% on Friday. The stock reached a high of $68.22 and was last traded at $67.91. About 2,648,580 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 17,258,246 shares. The stock had previously closed at $67.66.

Changes in analyst ratings

Several research firms have issued reports on WMT. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $71.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 1st. Tigress Financial increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Roth Mkm increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a “hold” rating and 28 have given the company a “buy” rating. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “moderate buy” and a consensus price target of $72.09.

Check out our latest report on WMT

Price development of Walmart shares

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $68.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $62.82. The company has a liquidity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company has a market capitalization of $546.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.04, a PEG ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 0.50.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT – Get Free Report) released its last earnings results on Thursday, May 16. The retailer reported earnings per share of $0.60 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.08. Walmart had a net margin of 2.88% and a return on equity of 21.57%. The company had revenue of $161.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $159.57 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted earnings per share of $0.49. The company’s revenue for the quarter increased 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will report earnings per share of $2.43 for the current year.

Insider buying and selling

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock on Thursday, May 23. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.23, for a total value of $1,899,758.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the CEO now owns 3,989,526 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $260,236,780.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock on Thursday, May 23. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.23, for a total value of $1,899,758.52. Following the sale, the CEO now owns 3,989,526 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $260,236,780.98. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director S. Robson Walton sold 3,540,250 shares of the company’s stock on Friday, May 17. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.55, for a total value of $228,523,137.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 648,504,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,860,933,910.05. The disclosure regarding this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,540,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $954,455,147. 45.58% of the shares are owned by insiders.

Institutional investors comment on Walmart

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their holdings in the company. AHL Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Walmart by 192.1% in the 1st quarter. AHL Investment Management Inc. now owns 24,000 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,444,000 after acquiring an additional 15,785 shares in the last quarter. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. now owns 7,816 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,232,000 after acquiring an additional 315 shares during the same period. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Walmart by 38.9% in the fourth quarter. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,501 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $237,000 after acquiring an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. Liberty Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Walmart during the first quarter valued at about $270,000. Finally, Commerce Bank increased its stake in Walmart by 189.4% during the 1st quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 917,625 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $55,213,000 after purchasing an additional 600,521 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the shares are owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Company Profile

(Get free report)

Walmart Inc. operates retail, wholesale, other business and e-commerce businesses worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Walmart US, Walmart International and Sam’s Club. It operates supercenters, supermarkets, hypermarkets, warehouse clubs, cash-and-carry stores and discount stores under the Walmart and Walmart Neighborhood Market brands; members-only warehouse clubs; e-commerce websites such as walmart.com.mx, walmart.ca, flipkart.com, PhonePe and other websites; and mobile commerce applications.