Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Now Covered by Sanford C. Bernstein

Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Walmart (NYSE:WMT) in a research note published on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm issued an outperform rating and a $95.00 price target on the retailer’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Walmart from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, August 16th. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $82.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $83.51.

Walmart Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $82.02 on Tuesday. Walmart has a 52-week low of $49.85 and a 52-week high of $82.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $659.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.05, a PEG ratio of 4.07 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $78.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $69.99.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 21.72%. The company had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $168.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.61 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Walmart will post 2.44 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total value of $209,607,941.31. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 630,501,148 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,781,873,820.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total value of $209,607,941.31. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 630,501,148 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,781,873,820.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.19, for a total value of $207,570.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 387,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,787,946.35. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock valued at $958,267,901 over the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Strong Tower Advisory Services grew its position in shares of Walmart by 237.9% during the 1st quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services now owns 19,297 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,158,000 after buying an additional 13,586 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 228.0% during the 1st quarter. Capital Advisors Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,648 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $340,000 after acquiring an additional 3,926 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Trust Co increased its position in Walmart by 160.5% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Trust Co now owns 21,537 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,296,000 after purchasing an additional 13,269 shares during the period. Wealth Management Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 213.3% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Management Partners LLC now owns 13,976 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $841,000 after purchasing an additional 9,515 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Keystone Wealth Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 186.3% in the 1st quarter. Keystone Wealth Services LLC now owns 6,964 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $419,000 after purchasing an additional 4,532 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by 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.