Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading Down 0.1%

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s share price fell 0.1% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $76.73 and last traded at $77.13. 4,466,170 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 17,371,932 shares. The stock had previously closed at $77.17.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on WMT. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Raymond James upped their target price on Walmart from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Walmart from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Walmart from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $78.99.

Walmart Trading Down 0.4 %

The company has a market capitalization of $618.62 billion, a PE ratio of 32.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.80. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $71.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.24.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 21.72%. The firm had revenue of $169.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $168.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.61 earnings per share. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 40,974 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.79, for a total transaction of $2,736,653.46. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 635,512,658 shares in the company, valued at $42,445,890,427.82. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 8,791 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 26th. The stock was 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 directly owns 94,415 shares in the company, valued at $6,420,220. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 40,974 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.79, for a total value of $2,736,653.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 635,512,658 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,445,890,427.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 10,144,237 shares of company stock valued at $730,497,016. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. AHL Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 15,785 shares during the last quarter. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Walmart by 38.9% during the fourth quarter. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,501 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $237,000 after buying an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. Liberty Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Walmart during the 1st quarter worth approximately $270,000. Commerce Bank grew its position in shares of Walmart by 189.4% in the 1st quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 917,625 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $55,213,000 after acquiring an additional 600,521 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 290.7% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 270,065 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $16,250,000 after acquiring an additional 200,947 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.