Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price Down 0.2%

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s share price dropped 0.2% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $68.01 and last traded at $68.13. Approximately 1,825,934 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 90% from the average daily volume of 17,990,516 shares. The stock had previously closed at $68.29.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Walmart from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $81.00 in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Tigress Financial increased their price target on Walmart from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Raymond James raised their price target on Walmart from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Barclays increased their target price on Walmart from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Walmart from $64.33 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.97.

Walmart Trading Down 0.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The business’s 50-day moving average is $63.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.11. The firm has a market cap of $548.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.52.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.08. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.57% and a net margin of 2.88%. The company had revenue of $161.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $159.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.49 EPS. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 1,244,347 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.63, for a total transaction of $82,910,840.61. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 633,518,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,211,325,061.93. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.26, for a total transaction of $180,780.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 524,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,613,179.38. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 1,244,347 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.63, for a total value of $82,910,840.61. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 633,518,311 shares in the company, valued at $42,211,325,061.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,451,722 shares of company stock valued at $947,990,915 in the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Old Port Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 192.8% during the 1st quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 24,717 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,487,000 after buying an additional 16,275 shares during the last quarter. Lazari Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Walmart by 200.0% in the 1st quarter. Lazari Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,050 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $605,000 after acquiring an additional 6,700 shares during the period. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 211.7% during the first quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,126 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $188,000 after acquiring an additional 2,123 shares during the last quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 88.1% during the first quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 1,204 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 564 shares during the period. Finally, HM Payson & Co. grew its position in shares of Walmart by 199.5% in the first quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 286,300 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $17,227,000 after purchasing an additional 190,716 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.