Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price Up 0.8% – Still a Buy?

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) rose 0.8% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $96.18 and last traded at $96.08. Approximately 6,804,868 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 60% from the average daily volume of 16,863,406 shares. The stock had previously closed at $95.30.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WMT. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on Walmart from $81.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Walmart from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.11.

Walmart Trading Up 0.4 %

The stock has a market cap of $769.26 billion, a PE ratio of 39.27, a PEG ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $84.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $76.00.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.51 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 5,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.45, for a total value of $512,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 87,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,993,095.80. This represents a 6.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total transaction of $313,228,886.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 611,988,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,245,498,149.60. The trade was a 0.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,300,460 shares of company stock worth $570,820,065 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 77.3% in the third quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. Hoese & Co LLP purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the third quarter worth $33,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 138.3% during the 2nd quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 429 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cultivar Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by 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.