Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price Up 0.2% Following Analyst Upgrade

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) shot up 0.2% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Robert W. Baird raised their price target on the stock from $82.00 to $90.00. Robert W. Baird currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Walmart traded as high as $81.13 and last traded at $80.89. 3,118,131 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 17,393,572 shares. The stock had previously closed at $80.75.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Tigress Financial raised their target price on Walmart from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Walmart from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $81.62.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.04, for a total transaction of $1,063,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 606,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,123,611.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.64, for a total value of $2,348,559.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,873,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $312,322,993.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.04, for a total transaction of $1,063,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 606,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,123,611.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 12,334,670 shares of company stock worth $958,025,027. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AHL Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Walmart by 192.1% in the first quarter. AHL Investment Management Inc. now owns 24,000 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,444,000 after acquiring an additional 15,785 shares during the last quarter. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Walmart by 38.9% during the fourth quarter. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,501 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $237,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares during the period. Liberty Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Walmart in the first quarter valued at approximately $270,000. Commerce Bank lifted its holdings in Walmart by 189.4% during the 1st quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 917,625 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $55,213,000 after purchasing an additional 600,521 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 290.7% during the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 270,065 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $16,250,000 after acquiring an additional 200,947 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Up 0.2 %

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $74.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $67.71. The firm has a market cap of $650.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.62, a PEG ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $169.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $168.56 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.72% and a net margin of 2.34%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.61 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 EPS 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.