Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Reaches New 1-Year High at $67.86

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $67.86 and last traded at $67.64, with a volume of 620480 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $67.42.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WMT. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 6th. Telsey Advisory Group raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 20th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.94.

Walmart Trading Up 0.3 %

The firm has a market cap of $543.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.93, a PEG ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 0.52. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $62.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.52. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $161.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $159.57 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.88% and a return on equity of 21.57%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.49 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn sold 30,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.82, for a total value of $1,944,600.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 144,807 shares in the company, valued at $9,386,389.74. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.45, for a total transaction of $1,760,545.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 4,047,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $244,687,515.15. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.82, for a total value of $1,944,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 144,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,386,389.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,493,971 shares of company stock worth $950,549,592 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Walmart by 199.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 411,745,334 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $24,774,717,000 after purchasing an additional 274,229,968 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Walmart by 181.0% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 56,861,234 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,421,342,000 after purchasing an additional 36,625,314 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth about $3,674,652,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Walmart by 183.0% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 29,172,985 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,755,339,000 after purchasing an additional 18,865,484 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates raised its position in shares of Walmart by 212.6% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 14,035,473 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $844,514,000 after purchasing an additional 9,544,958 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

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.