Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading Up 0.1% - What's Next?

Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) were up 0.1% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $92.44 and last traded at $91.98. Approximately 2,999,419 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 16,845,604 shares. The stock had previously closed at $91.88.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on WMT shares. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Redburn Atlantic raised Walmart to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. UBS Group lifted their price target on Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Walmart from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Walmart from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $91.88.

Walmart Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $743.54 billion, a PE ratio of 37.96, a PEG ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 0.51. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $83.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $74.82.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $167.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.51 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share 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 on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.64, for a total transaction of $2,348,559.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,873,053 shares in the company, valued at $312,322,993.92. The trade was a 0.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP David Chojnowski sold 5,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.45, for a total transaction of $512,120.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 87,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,993,095.80. This represents a 6.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 12,385,186 shares of company stock worth $963,206,365. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WMT. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 77.3% in the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Hoese & Co LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 138.3% during the 2nd quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 429 shares of the retailer's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cultivar Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.