Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price Up 1% – Still a Buy?

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s stock price shot up 1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $90.74 and last traded at $90.43. 4,226,960 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 16,860,635 shares. The stock had previously closed at $89.50.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on WMT. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Walmart from $83.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $91.88.

Walmart Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The company has a fifty day moving average of $82.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $737.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.29 and a beta of 0.51.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The firm had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.51 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.96, for a total value of $1,088,850.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 593,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,198,598.40. The trade was a 2.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.48, for a total transaction of $232,440.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 384,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,765,104.20. The trade was a 0.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock valued at $958,823,647. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WMT. WFA Asset Management Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 201.0% in the first quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 2,092 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $126,000 after purchasing an additional 1,397 shares in the last quarter. Dupont Capital Management Corp lifted its stake in Walmart by 165.4% in the 1st quarter. Dupont Capital Management Corp now owns 270,147 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $16,255,000 after acquiring an additional 168,346 shares in the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 180.7% in the 1st quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 93,833 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,646,000 after purchasing an additional 60,408 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 248.0% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 732,829 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $44,091,000 after purchasing an additional 522,238 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.