Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading 0.5% Higher After Analyst Upgrade

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) rose 0.5% on Tuesday after Truist Financial upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a buy rating. Truist Financial now has a $89.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $76.00. Walmart traded as high as $80.86 and last traded at $80.71. Approximately 3,252,589 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 17,449,656 shares. The stock had previously closed at $80.33.

WMT has been the topic of a number of other research reports. DA Davidson lifted their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Walmart from $81.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $80.19.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 359,616 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.25, for a total transaction of $28,139,952.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 603,989,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,262,194,181.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,063 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.76, for a total transaction of $166,607.88. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 459,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,113,904.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 359,616 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.25, for a total transaction of $28,139,952.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 603,989,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,262,194,181.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 12,369,039 shares of company stock valued at $959,826,083. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Northwest Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 199.3% in the first quarter. Northwest Capital Management Inc now owns 440 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 138.3% in the second quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 429 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Cultivar Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Able Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Price 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’s fifty day moving average is $73.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.02. The company has a market cap of $649.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.49, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.51.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.72% and a net margin of 2.34%. The company had revenue of $169.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $168.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.61 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.