Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Sets New 52-Week High at $80.75

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $80.75 and last traded at $80.75, with a volume of 29239 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $80.60.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WMT. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Walmart from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. StockNews.com raised Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $78.99.

Walmart Stock Performance

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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $72.90 and a 200-day moving average of $66.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $631.97 billion, a PE ratio of 33.65, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.51.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $168.56 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 21.72%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.61 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Jim C. Walton sold 934,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.46, for a total transaction of $74,215,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 610,843,318 shares in the company, valued at $48,537,610,048.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, major shareholder Jim C. Walton sold 934,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.46, for a total transaction of $74,215,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 610,843,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,537,610,048.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.39, for a total value of $1,991,790.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,960,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $270,851,892.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 10,203,360 shares of company stock worth $788,678,803 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WMT. Aveo Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,330 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $683,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,972 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,045,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 58.3% in the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 6,631 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,033,000 after buying an additional 2,443 shares during the last quarter. Sachetta LLC bought a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth $127,000. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its position in Walmart by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 114,721 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $18,086,000 after acquiring an additional 8,374 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

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.