Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading 0.2% Higher on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) traded up 0.2% during trading on Wednesday after Evercore ISI raised their price target on the stock from $94.00 to $96.00. Evercore ISI currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Walmart traded as high as $93.74 and last traded at $93.70. 3,723,721 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 16,826,482 shares. The stock had previously closed at $93.51.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Guggenheim upped their price target on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Walmart from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Walmart from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $92.11.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total transaction of $313,228,886.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 611,988,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,245,498,149.60. This trade represents a 0.66 % 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, major shareholder Jim C. Walton sold 934,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.46, for a total value of $74,215,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 610,843,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,537,610,048.28. This represents a 0.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,300,460 shares of company stock worth $570,820,065 over the last three months. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the third quarter worth $26,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 138.3% during the second quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 429 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Cultivar Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. increased its position in Walmart by 77.3% during the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Finally, Hoese & Co LLP purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Up 0.9 %

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $84.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $766.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.07, a PEG ratio of 4.44 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The firm had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.51 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.