Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Price Target Increased to $71.00 by Analysts at Stifel Nicolaus

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) had its target price raised by analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $69.00 to $71.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “hold” rating on the retailer’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price target would indicate a potential upside of 5.22% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Roth Mkm boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.47.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT opened at $67.48 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $542.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.88, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $64.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.41. Walmart has a twelve month low of $49.85 and a twelve month high of $69.04.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $161.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $159.57 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.88% and a return on equity of 21.57%. The company’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.49 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Walmart will post 2.42 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 3,633,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.80, for a total transaction of $242,737,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 636,898,811 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,544,840,574.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director S Robson Walton sold 3,540,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.55, for a total value of $228,523,137.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 648,504,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,860,933,910.05. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 3,633,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.80, for a total value of $242,737,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 636,898,811 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,544,840,574.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 14,499,762 shares of company stock valued at $951,294,838. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC now owns 1,636 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $258,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. ICW Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,451 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,436,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Bill Few Associates Inc. lifted its position in Walmart by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. now owns 5,806 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $915,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. Rossmore Private Capital lifted its position in Walmart by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Rossmore Private Capital now owns 20,504 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,232,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 21,377 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,370,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.