Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Melius Research

Equities researchers at Melius Research started coverage on shares of Walmart (NYSE:WMT) in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage set a “buy” rating and a $95.00 price target on the retailer’s stock. Melius Research’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 18.71% from the company’s current price.

WMT has been the subject of several other reports. Roth Mkm raised their target price on Walmart from $71.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. HSBC upped their target price on Walmart from $70.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Walmart from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their price objective on Walmart from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $79.76.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT stock traded up $0.97 during trading on Monday, reaching $80.03. 6,092,792 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,492,826. Walmart has a twelve month low of $49.85 and a twelve month high of $81.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The company has a market capitalization of $643.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.19, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a 50-day moving average of $73.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.87.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 21.72%. The business had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $168.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.61 earnings per share. Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Walmart will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 8,791 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.00, for a total transaction of $597,788.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 94,415 shares in the company, valued at $6,420,220. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total value of $313,228,886.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 611,988,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,245,498,149.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP David Chojnowski sold 8,791 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.00, for a total transaction of $597,788.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 94,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,420,220. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,369,039 shares of company stock valued at $959,826,083 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in Walmart during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Northwest Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Walmart by 199.3% in the 1st quarter. Northwest Capital Management Inc now owns 440 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 293 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 138.3% in 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 during the last quarter. Cultivar Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Able Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.