Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Shares Up 0.4% – Should You Buy?

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) rose 0.4% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $97.77 and last traded at $97.76. Approximately 3,781,327 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 14,821,823 shares. The stock had previously closed at $97.40.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WMT shares. UBS Group upped their target price on Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.69.

Walmart Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $782.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $92.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $82.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.51 earnings per share. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz acquired 5,446 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $91.81 per share, with a total value of $499,997.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,805 shares in the company, valued at $716,577.05. The trade was a 230.86 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total transaction of $246,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 378,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,054,909.80. This represents a 0.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 140,177 shares of company stock worth $12,895,688 over the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Brophy Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Walmart during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,072,000. Bank of New Hampshire grew its stake in Walmart by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 47,949 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,332,000 after buying an additional 5,786 shares during the last quarter. Iowa State Bank raised its holdings in Walmart by 213.8% in the 4th quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 26,807 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,422,000 after acquiring an additional 18,263 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,848,533,000 after acquiring an additional 2,107,197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Walmart during the third quarter valued at about $541,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

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.