Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-eight brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twenty-six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $78.99.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on WMT shares. HSBC raised their price target on Walmart from $70.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Barclays raised their price target on Walmart from $66.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Walmart from $74.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Roth Mkm lifted their target price on Walmart from $71.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $78.05 on Friday. Walmart has a one year low of $49.85 and a one year high of $81.02. 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 has a market cap of $627.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.51. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $73.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.65.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued 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. 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 analyst estimates of $168.56 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.61 EPS. Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Walmart will post 2.44 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 25,578 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.58, for a total transaction of $1,728,561.24. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 390,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,367,350.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 25,578 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.58, for a total transaction of $1,728,561.24. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 390,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,367,350.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s 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 in the company, valued at approximately $270,851,892.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,369,039 shares of company stock worth $959,826,083 in the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Northwest Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 199.3% in the 1st quarter. Northwest Capital Management Inc now owns 440 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 293 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 138.3% in the 2nd quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 429 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the period. Cultivar Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Able Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Company Profile

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.