Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading 0.4% Higher Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) were up 0.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $82.00 to $89.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Walmart traded as high as $85.37 and last traded at $85.30. Approximately 2,283,633 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 11,793,080 shares. The stock had previously closed at $84.99.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on WMT. Bank of America upped their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Walmart from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $84.84.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.48, for a total transaction of $232,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 384,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,765,104.20. This trade represents a 0.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.96, for a total transaction of $1,088,850.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 593,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,198,598.40. This trade represents a 2.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock worth $958,823,647 over the last quarter. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 23,720 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,915,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 0.3% during the third quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 43,549 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,591,000 after buying an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. CAP Partners LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. CAP Partners LLC now owns 6,054 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $489,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Investment Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Investment Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,182 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $499,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jag Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 9,413 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $760,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock 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 50-day moving average price is $80.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.53. The stock has a market cap of $678.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.46, a PEG ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.51.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $168.56 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.72% and a net margin of 2.34%. The company’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.61 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 EPS 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.