Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price Up 0.5% After Analyst Upgrade

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) shares were up 0.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on the stock from $105.00 to $111.00. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Walmart traded as high as $95.90 and last traded at $95.87. Approximately 3,528,085 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 16,866,055 shares. The stock had previously closed at $95.42.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. DZ Bank lowered shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $91.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Two investment 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $93.69.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.47, for a total value 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 $34,691,507.55. The trade was a 0.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,873,053 shares in the company, valued at $312,322,993.92. The trade was a 0.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 143,412 shares of company stock valued at $12,228,259 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS increased its stake in Walmart by 2.3% in the third quarter. Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS now owns 85,424 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,898,000 after acquiring an additional 1,907 shares during the last quarter. 1ST Source Bank increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. 1ST Source Bank now owns 65,133 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,259,000 after purchasing an additional 998 shares during the last quarter. Alternative Investment Advisors LLC. bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at $318,000. DGS Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 18.4% during the 3rd quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 19,580 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,581,000 after buying an additional 3,048 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Copley Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart in the third quarter valued at about $303,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The stock has a market cap of $750.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.33, a PEG ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.54. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $87.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $77.75.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.51 EPS. Research analysts forecast 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.