Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price Down 0.5%

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s share price traded down 0.5% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $69.40 and last traded at $69.48. 1,695,653 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 17,584,078 shares. The stock had previously closed at $69.80.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $71.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 1st. HSBC raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $70.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $81.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.83.

Walmart Price Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $65.76 and its 200-day moving average is $60.40. The firm has a market cap of $559.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.08. Walmart had a net margin of 2.88% and a return on equity of 21.57%. The firm had revenue of $161.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $159.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.49 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.03, for a total value of $1,748,313.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 4,018,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $241,239,559.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.03, for a total transaction of $1,748,313.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 4,018,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $241,239,559.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.08, for a total transaction of $177,240.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 521,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,816,896.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,525,340 shares of company stock worth $953,023,399. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AHL Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 192.1% in the 1st quarter. AHL Investment Management Inc. now owns 24,000 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,444,000 after acquiring an additional 15,785 shares during the last quarter. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. raised its holdings in Walmart by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. now owns 7,816 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,232,000 after buying an additional 315 shares during the period. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Walmart by 38.9% during the 4th quarter. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,501 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $237,000 after buying an additional 420 shares during the period. Liberty Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart during the 1st quarter worth approximately $270,000. Finally, Motco raised its holdings in Walmart by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Motco now owns 58,301 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $9,191,000 after buying an additional 726 shares during the period. 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.