Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading 1.2% Higher Following Analyst Upgrade

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s share price was up 1.2% during mid-day trading on Friday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $96.00 to $100.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Walmart traded as high as $93.39 and last traded at $92.87. Approximately 5,550,280 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 52% from the average daily volume of 11,591,224 shares. The stock had previously closed at $91.80.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Redburn Atlantic raised Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. TD Cowen upped their target price on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total transaction of $1,215,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 566,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,485,124.40. This trade represents a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total transaction of $2,689,601.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,785,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $349,609,579.70. This represents a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 140,412 shares of company stock valued at $12,478,116 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brophy Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,072,000. Bank of New Hampshire increased its stake in Walmart by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 47,949 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,332,000 after purchasing an additional 5,786 shares in the last quarter. Iowa State Bank increased its stake in Walmart by 213.8% during the 4th quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 26,807 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,422,000 after purchasing an additional 18,263 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 4.6% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,848,533,000 after buying an additional 2,107,197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the third quarter valued at approximately $541,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Up 1.3 %

The company has a market cap of $747.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.18, a P/E/G ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.55. The company’s 50-day moving average is $90.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $80.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.51 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share 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.