Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) had its price objective lifted by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $88.00 to $90.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the retailer’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price points to a potential upside of 9.50% from the stock’s previous close.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Melius Research began coverage on Walmart in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Walmart in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.89.

Walmart Trading Up 0.3 %

WMT opened at $82.19 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $79.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $71.09. Walmart has a fifty-two week low of $49.85 and a fifty-two week high of $83.34. The company has a market cap of $660.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.73, a price-to-earnings-growth 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.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company posted $0.61 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,063 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.76, for a total value of $166,607.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 459,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,113,904.08. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 611,988,318 shares of the company’s stock, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,063 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.76, for a total value of $166,607.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 459,558 shares in the company, valued at $37,113,904.08. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,334,337 shares of company stock worth $958,577,287 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 199.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 411,745,334 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $24,774,717,000 after buying an additional 274,229,968 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Walmart by 181.0% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 56,861,234 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,421,342,000 after purchasing an additional 36,625,314 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 187.4% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 13,303,200 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $800,454,000 after purchasing an additional 8,674,100 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its holdings in Walmart by 284.0% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 11,122,273 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $669,227,000 after purchasing an additional 8,225,552 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in Walmart by 184.1% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 12,567,533 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $756,188,000 after purchasing an additional 8,144,393 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

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.