Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-one ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $92.11.

Several research firms recently commented on WMT. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Walmart from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th.

Walmart Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of WMT opened at $95.70 on Wednesday. Walmart has a twelve month low of $49.85 and a twelve month high of $96.18. The stock has a market cap of $769.26 billion, a PE ratio of 39.27, a P/E/G ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $84.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $76.08.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.51 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Walmart will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz bought 5,446 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $91.81 per share, for a total transaction of $499,997.26. Following the purchase, the director now owns 7,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $716,577.05. The trade was a 230.86 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.64, for a total transaction of $2,348,559.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,873,053 shares in the company, valued at $312,322,993.92. This represents a 0.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,243,091 shares of company stock valued at $257,591,179 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Walmart by 3.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,048,465,000 after acquiring an additional 2,786,061 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,098,203,000 after purchasing an additional 7,200,004 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 4.6% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,848,533,000 after purchasing an additional 2,107,197 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Walmart by 3.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 41,501,782 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,392,658,000 after purchasing an additional 1,480,927 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in Walmart by 1.8% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 36,282,740 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,456,704,000 after buying an additional 644,353 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.