Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price Up 0.4% on Analyst Upgrade

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) shares rose 0.4% during trading on Tuesday after Evercore ISI raised their price target on the stock from $82.00 to $85.00. Evercore ISI currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Walmart traded as high as $81.44 and last traded at $81.10. Approximately 2,195,765 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 17,024,691 shares. The stock had previously closed at $80.81.

WMT has been the subject of a number of other research reports. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Walmart from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Redburn Atlantic raised Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Barclays raised their price objective on Walmart from $66.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Walmart in a research report on Tuesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.51.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.04, for a total value of $1,063,650.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 606,165 shares in the company, valued at $49,123,611.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.64, for a total value of $2,348,559.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,873,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $312,322,993.92. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.04, for a total value of $1,063,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 606,165 shares in the company, valued at $49,123,611.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 12,295,088 shares of company stock worth $955,284,831. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Walmart by 133.4% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 923,037 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $73,640,000 after acquiring an additional 527,516 shares during the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 8.3% in the third quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,759 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,434,000 after purchasing an additional 1,365 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.2% in the third quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 244,500 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $19,743,000 after purchasing an additional 2,800 shares during the period. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 158.3% in the third quarter. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 14,790 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,194,000 after purchasing an additional 9,065 shares during the period. Finally, Lyell Wealth Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 11.6% in the third quarter. Lyell Wealth Management LP now owns 82,730 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,680,000 after purchasing an additional 8,574 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Up 1.5 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market cap of $669.71 billion, a PE ratio of 35.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.07 and a beta of 0.51. The business has a fifty day moving average of $78.71 and a 200-day moving average of $70.08.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly 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 during 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 quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.61 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current 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.