Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price Up 0% – Still a Buy?

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) shot up 0% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $85.58 and last traded at $85.52. 2,752,928 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 16,649,932 shares. The stock had previously closed at $85.50.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Roth Mkm upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $71.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Barclays increased their price target on Walmart from $66.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Walmart in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Walmart from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.18.

Walmart Stock Down 0.2 %

The company has a market cap of $677.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $81.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.78.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $168.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.61 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 630,501,148 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,781,873,820.76. This trade represents a 0.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.48, for a total value of $232,440.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 384,165 shares in the company, valued at $29,765,104.20. This trade represents a 0.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock worth $958,823,647. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WMT. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 3.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,048,465,000 after purchasing an additional 2,786,061 shares during the last quarter. Greenwood Gearhart Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Greenwood Gearhart Inc. now owns 425,297 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $34,342,000 after buying an additional 3,553 shares during the last quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC now owns 32,633 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,635,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the period. Frisch Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth about $294,000. Finally, Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 26,801 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,164,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the period. 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.