Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Rating Upgraded by Redburn Atlantic

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) was upgraded by investment analysts at Redburn Atlantic to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on WMT. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Walmart from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday. They set a “buy” rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on Walmart from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.19.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $79.91 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $74.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $67.35. The stock has a market cap of $642.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.20, a PEG ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.51. Walmart has a 12-month low of $49.85 and a 12-month high of $81.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total value of $313,228,886.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 611,988,318 shares in the company, valued at $47,245,498,149.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total value of $313,228,886.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 611,988,318 shares in the company, valued at $47,245,498,149.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.60, for a total value of $926,625.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 632,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,648,499. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,317,999 shares of company stock worth $956,341,379 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Aveo Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,330 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $683,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 1.8% during the 4th 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 position in shares of Walmart by 58.3% in the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 6,631 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,033,000 after acquiring an additional 2,443 shares in the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 18,481 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,914,000 after acquiring an additional 1,705 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Relative Value Partners Group LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Relative Value Partners Group LLC now owns 4,680 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $738,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.