Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Sets New 12-Month High on Insider Buying Activity

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday following insider buying activity. The stock traded as high as $92.81 and last traded at $92.81, with a volume of 84924 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $92.50.

Specifically, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz acquired 5,446 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $91.81 per share, for a total transaction of $499,997.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,577.05. This trade represents a 230.86 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on WMT. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Walmart from $89.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.88.

Walmart Stock Up 0.3 %

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $83.35 and a 200 day moving average of $75.04. The company has a market capitalization of $746.03 billion, a PE ratio of 37.96, a P/E/G ratio of 4.39 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

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

Institutional Trading of Walmart

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,048,465,000 after purchasing an additional 2,786,061 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,098,203,000 after acquiring an additional 7,200,004 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,848,533,000 after purchasing an additional 2,107,197 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 3.7% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 41,501,782 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,392,658,000 after acquiring an additional 1,480,927 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in Walmart by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 36,282,740 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,456,704,000 after purchasing an additional 644,353 shares in the last quarter. 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.