Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Shares Up 2.6% – Still a Buy?

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) rose 2.6% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $92.68 and last traded at $92.68. Approximately 8,992,427 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 47% from the average daily volume of 17,090,088 shares. The stock had previously closed at $90.35.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on Walmart from $89.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $93.69.

Walmart Stock Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $87.93 and a 200 day moving average of $78.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The firm has a market cap of $744.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.04, a PEG ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.54.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.64, for a total value of $2,348,559.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,873,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $312,322,993.92. The trade was a 0.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz acquired 5,446 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $91.81 per share, with a total value of $499,997.26. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 7,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $716,577.05. This trade represents a 230.86 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 143,412 shares of company stock valued at $12,228,259 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WMT. Brophy Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,072,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 4.6% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,848,533,000 after acquiring an additional 2,107,197 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the third quarter worth about $541,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Walmart by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,236,769 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,522,369,000 after purchasing an additional 350,881 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oxbow Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 45.0% during the 3rd quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 28,453 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,298,000 after purchasing an additional 8,834 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.