Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT – Get Free Report) shares rose 0.5% on Monday after StockNews.com upgraded the stock from a buy rating to a strong buy rating. The company traded as high as $73.96 and was last seen at $73.80. About 2,300,625 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 17,551,225 shares. The stock had previously closed at $73.45.
A number of other brokerage firms have also issued reports on WMT. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. Tigress Financial raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 17. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a “hold,” 26 have given a “buy” rating and one has given a “strong buy” rating. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “moderate buy” and an average price target of $78.57.
Check out our latest Walmart stock report
Insider buying and selling
In other Walmart news, Director S. Robson Walton sold 933,000 shares of the company’s stock on Thursday, May 30. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.92, for a total value of $60,570,360.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 642,016,611 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,679,718,386.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC’s website. In related news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 8,791 shares of the company’s stock on Wednesday, June 26. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.00, for a total transaction of $597,788.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 94,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,420,220. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available on the SEC’s website. Also, Director S. Robson Walton sold 933,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.92, for a total transaction of $60,570,360.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 642,016,611 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,679,718,386.12. The disclosure regarding this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 10,970,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $723,987,410. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.
Institutional inflows and outflows
Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Walmart by 199.4% in the 1st 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 same period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Walmart by 181.0% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 56,861,234 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,421,342,000 after purchasing an additional 36,625,314 shares during the same period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,674,652,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Walmart by 183.0% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 29,172,985 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,755,339,000 after purchasing an additional 18,865,484 shares during the same period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates increased its position in Walmart by 212.6% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 14,035,473 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $844,514,000 after purchasing an additional 9,544,958 shares during the same period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.
Walmart price history
The company has a market cap of $592.97 billion, a price to earnings ratio of 31.50, a PEG ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.50. The company’s 50-day moving average is $68.99 and its 200-day moving average is $63.56. The company has a liquidity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.
Walmart (NYSE:WMT – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly results on Thursday, August 15. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $169.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $168.56 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.88% and a return on equity of 21.57%. The company’s quarterly revenue grew 4.7% year-over-year. During the same quarter last year, the company reported earnings per share of $0.61. As a group, research analysts expect Walmart Inc. to report earnings per share of $2.43 for the current fiscal year.
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.
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