Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Shares Up 0.4% After Analyst Upgrade

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s stock price traded up 0.4% on Friday after Tigress Financial raised their price target on the stock from $86.00 to $115.00. Tigress Financial currently has a buy rating on the stock. Walmart traded as high as $94.52 and last traded at $94.29. 2,534,241 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 16,858,213 shares. The stock had previously closed at $93.88.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on WMT. StockNews.com lowered shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Walmart from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Melius Research began coverage on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $93.33.

Insider Activity 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 stock was sold at an average price of $80.76, for a total transaction of $166,607.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 459,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,113,904.08. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.47, for a total transaction of $277,410.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 375,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,691,507.55. This trade represents a 0.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 2,309,091 shares of company stock worth $183,375,539. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 2,786,061 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 12.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,098,203,000 after buying an additional 7,200,004 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 4.6% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,848,533,000 after acquiring an additional 2,107,197 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 41,501,782 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,392,658,000 after acquiring an additional 1,480,927 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in Walmart by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 36,282,740 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,456,704,000 after acquiring an additional 644,353 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $86.10 and a 200-day moving average of $77.02. The company has a market cap of $757.15 billion, a PE ratio of 38.68, a PEG ratio of 4.47 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 0.42.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.51 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share 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.