Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price Down 0.8%

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) shares traded down 0.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $80.36 and last traded at $80.64. 4,269,884 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 17,385,559 shares. The stock had previously closed at $81.27.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMT has been the topic of several analyst reports. KeyCorp increased their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $83.00 price target (up previously from $81.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Guggenheim raised their target price on Walmart from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Bank of America upped their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on Walmart from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.62.

Walmart Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market cap of $646.62 billion, a PE ratio of 34.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 0.51. The company’s fifty day moving average is $74.86 and its 200 day moving average is $67.85.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.72% and a net margin of 2.34%. The company had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $168.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.61 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total transaction of $209,607,941.31. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 630,501,148 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,781,873,820.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total value of $209,607,941.31. Following the sale, the insider now owns 630,501,148 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,781,873,820.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,375,563 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.96, for a total value of $182,823,328.48. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 619,646,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,687,998,026.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,334,670 shares of company stock valued at $958,025,027 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 199.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 411,745,334 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $24,774,717,000 after acquiring an additional 274,229,968 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake 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 valued at $3,421,342,000 after buying an additional 36,625,314 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in Walmart by 1.8% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 36,282,740 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,456,704,000 after buying an additional 644,353 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in Walmart by 16.0% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 16,282,129 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,102,463,000 after acquiring an additional 2,246,656 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Walmart by 5.4% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 16,184,945 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,095,946,000 after acquiring an additional 834,005 shares during 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.