Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) traded down 0.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $70.24 and last traded at $70.32. 1,238,672 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 93% from the average session volume of 17,278,047 shares. The stock had previously closed at $70.38.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on WMT shares. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Tigress Financial upped their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Walmart from $64.33 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Walmart from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $71.60.

Walmart Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $563.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.07 and a beta of 0.50. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $67.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $61.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.08. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.57% and a net margin of 2.88%. The business had revenue of $161.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $159.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.49 earnings per share. Walmart’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,398 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total value of $166,661.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 463,871 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,239,034.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,398 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total value of $166,661.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 463,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,239,034.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.23, for a total transaction of $1,899,758.52. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,989,526 shares in the company, valued at $260,236,780.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 14,498,614 shares of company stock worth $951,441,747. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WMT. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at about $923,000. Columbia Trust Co 01012016 increased its holdings in Walmart by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Columbia Trust Co 01012016 now owns 1,939 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $306,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 10,630 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,676,000 after purchasing an additional 973 shares in the last quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 25,826 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,071,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares during the period. Finally, 25 LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $367,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently 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.