Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Shares Up 1.2% After Analyst Upgrade

by · The Markets Daily

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT – Get Free Report) shares traded up 1.2% during trading on Friday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $96.00 to $100.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Walmart traded as high as $93.39 and last traded at $92.87. 5,550,280 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 52% from the average session volume of 11,591,224 shares. The stock had previously closed at $91.80.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. StockNews.com lowered Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Melius Research began coverage on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $95.00 price target for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Walmart from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.08.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on WMT

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.79, for a total value of $2,411,175.96. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,843,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $318,238,881.91. This represents a 0.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,065 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.69, for a total transaction of $166,624.85. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 457,493 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,915,110.17. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 140,412 shares of company stock worth $12,478,116. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Kozak & Associates Inc. raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 22.3% in the fourth quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 619 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 23,720 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,915,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 43,549 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,591,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the period. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC now owns 32,633 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,635,000 after buying an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CAP Partners LLC grew its position in Walmart by 2.1% in the third quarter. CAP Partners LLC now owns 6,054 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $489,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Up 1.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $90.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $80.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $746.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT – Get Free Report) last posted 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 net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The firm had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.51 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Walmart

(Get Free Report)

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.

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