Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Hits New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $96.59 and last traded at $95.25, with a volume of 2362348 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $94.76.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMT has been the topic of several research reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com cut shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Walmart from $89.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on Walmart from $83.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.69.

Walmart Trading Up 0.6 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The business’s 50-day moving average is $92.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.29. The firm has a market cap of $765.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.14, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The business had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.51 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total transaction of $246,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 378,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,054,909.80. This represents a 0.79 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.62, for a total value of $2,697,464.88. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,766,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $348,852,396.42. The trade was a 0.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 140,177 shares of company stock valued at $12,895,688 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. grew its position in Walmart by 77.3% during the third quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Hoese & Co LLP bought a new position in Walmart in the third quarter worth $33,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.