Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price Up 0.5%

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report)'s share price rose 0.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $77.81 and last traded at $77.61. Approximately 3,572,160 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 17,335,314 shares. The stock had previously closed at $77.23.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on WMT. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Walmart from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Walmart from $64.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $83.00 price target (up previously from $81.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, August 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Walmart presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $78.64.

Walmart Stock Down 0.1 %

The company has a market cap of $620.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.51. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $64.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $168.56 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 21.72%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.61 EPS. Walmart's revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.19, for a total transaction of $207,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 387,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,787,946.35. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 8,791 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.00, for a total value of $597,788.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 94,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,420,220. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.19, for a total value of $207,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 387,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,787,946.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 6,306,511 shares of company stock worth $420,470,807 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Aveo Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,330 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $683,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Walmart by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,972 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,045,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. AJOVista LLC acquired a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth approximately $603,000. Finally, Sheets Smith Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 33.4% during the 4th quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 6,898 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,087,000 after buying an additional 1,726 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.