Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading Up 1.5%

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) shares shot up 1.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $68.60 and last traded at $68.46. 3,387,535 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 18,028,391 shares. The stock had previously closed at $67.42.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on WMT shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Walmart from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Walmart from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on Walmart from $67.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.97.

Walmart Stock Performance

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $63.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.05. The company has a market capitalization of $549.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.08. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.57% and a net margin of 2.88%. The firm had revenue of $161.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $159.57 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.49 earnings per share. Walmart’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.42 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.45, for a total transaction of $1,760,545.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 4,047,767 shares in the company, valued at $244,687,515.15. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.45, for a total value of $1,760,545.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,047,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $244,687,515.15. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 1,244,347 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $82,910,840.61. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 633,518,311 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,211,325,061.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,480,846 shares of company stock worth $949,751,461 over the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Northwest Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Walmart by 199.3% during the 1st quarter. Northwest Capital Management Inc now owns 440 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 293 shares during the last quarter. Partnership Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Able Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other 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.