Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Shares Gap Down to $68.90

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $68.90, but opened at $67.17. Walmart shares last traded at $67.24, with a volume of 2,368,109 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on WMT. Citigroup lifted their target price on Walmart from $63.33 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Walmart from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Walmart from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Walmart from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price target on Walmart from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.97.

Walmart Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $63.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $59.05. The company has a market capitalization of $549.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.52.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.08. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.57% and a net margin of 2.88%. The company had revenue of $161.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $159.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.49 earnings per share. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.42 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.08, for a total transaction of $177,240.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 521,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,816,896.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 3,633,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.80, for a total value of $242,737,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 636,898,811 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,544,840,574.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.08, for a total value of $177,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 521,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,816,896.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,451,722 shares of company stock valued at $947,990,915 over the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WMT. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Walmart by 199.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 411,745,334 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $24,774,717,000 after purchasing an additional 274,229,968 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in 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 valued at $3,421,342,000 after purchasing an additional 36,625,314 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in 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 valued at $1,755,339,000 after purchasing an additional 18,865,484 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in Walmart by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 24,087,268 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,852,277,000 after purchasing an additional 426,388 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at $3,674,652,000. 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.