Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price Up 0.1% After Strong Earnings

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s share price was up 0.1% during trading on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $87.09 and last traded at $86.72. Approximately 5,598,800 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 67% from the average daily volume of 16,784,646 shares. The stock had previously closed at $86.60.

The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.72% and a net margin of 2.34%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.51 EPS.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Walmart from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Walmart from $83.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Walmart from $66.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $91.51.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.48, for a total transaction of $232,440.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 384,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,765,104.20. This trade represents a 0.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total value of $209,607,941.31. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 630,501,148 shares in the company, valued at $48,781,873,820.76. This represents a 0.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock valued at $958,823,647. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. WFA Asset Management Corp lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 201.0% in the first quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 2,092 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $126,000 after buying an additional 1,397 shares during the last quarter. Dupont Capital Management Corp boosted its holdings in Walmart by 165.4% in the 1st quarter. Dupont Capital Management Corp now owns 270,147 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $16,255,000 after purchasing an additional 168,346 shares during the period. Tiemann Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 186.8% during the first quarter. Tiemann Investment Advisors LLC now owns 12,218 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $735,000 after buying an additional 7,958 shares during the last quarter. InterOcean Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 211.0% in the first quarter. InterOcean Capital Group LLC now owns 1,710,257 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $102,906,000 after buying an additional 1,160,354 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis grew its position in Walmart by 96.7% during the first quarter. Natixis now owns 921,820 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $55,466,000 after buying an additional 453,101 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Up 0.7 %

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $81.75 and a 200-day moving average of $73.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $700.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.19 and a beta of 0.51.

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.