Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Shares Up 0.4% Following Analyst Upgrade

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) shot up 0.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday after KeyCorp raised their price target on the stock from $87.00 to $88.00. KeyCorp currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Walmart traded as high as $84.34 and last traded at $83.76. 2,203,100 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 16,740,404 shares. The stock had previously closed at $83.44.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Walmart in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com upgraded Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. 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. Bank of America lifted their target price on Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Melius Research started coverage on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $95.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.92.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.48, for a total transaction of $232,440.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 384,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,765,104.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Walmart news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 owns 630,501,148 shares in the company, valued at $48,781,873,820.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.48, for a total value of $232,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 384,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,765,104.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock worth $958,823,647. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart during the third quarter worth $26,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 138.3% during the 2nd quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 429 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Cultivar Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Walmart by 253.0% during the first quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC now owns 526 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 377 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $80.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $71.67. The stock has a market cap of $673.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.67, a P/E/G ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.51.

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