Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Shares Up 0.3% Following Analyst Upgrade

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s stock price traded up 0.3% during mid-day trading on Friday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $88.00 to $90.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Walmart traded as high as $82.53 and last traded at $82.16. 2,996,895 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 16,802,934 shares. The stock had previously closed at $81.95.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Walmart from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $83.00 price objective (up from $81.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, August 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $83.89.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total transaction of $209,607,941.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 630,501,148 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,781,873,820.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Walmart news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 611,988,318 shares in the company, valued at $47,245,498,149.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total value of $209,607,941.31. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 630,501,148 shares in the company, valued at $48,781,873,820.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 12,334,337 shares of company stock worth $958,577,287. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new position in Walmart during the first quarter worth $137,000. InTrack Investment Management Inc raised its holdings in Walmart by 305.5% in the 1st quarter. InTrack Investment Management Inc now owns 6,557 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $395,000 after acquiring an additional 4,940 shares during the period. Verum Partners LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 210.3% in the 1st quarter. Verum Partners LLC now owns 5,282 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $318,000 after acquiring an additional 3,580 shares during the period. CAP Partners LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 209.0% during the first quarter. CAP Partners LLC now owns 5,766 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $347,000 after acquiring an additional 3,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nvest Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 210.5% during the first quarter. Nvest Financial LLC now owns 72,815 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,381,000 after acquiring an additional 49,362 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Up 0.3 %

The company has a market cap of $660.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.73, a P/E/G ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.51. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $79.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $71.09.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced 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. Walmart had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 21.72%. The company had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $168.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.61 earnings per share. Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 EPS 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.