Morgan Stanley Boosts Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Price Target to $89.00

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) had its target price lifted by Morgan Stanley from $82.00 to $89.00 in a research note published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the retailer’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on WMT. UBS Group upped their target price on Walmart from $81.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Truist Financial upgraded Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $76.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $83.00 target price (up previously from $81.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, August 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $85.18.

Walmart Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $84.27 on Tuesday. Walmart has a 12-month low of $49.85 and a 12-month high of $85.79. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $81.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $72.62. 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 has a market capitalization of $677.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.03, a PEG ratio of 4.27 and a beta of 0.51.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its 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 company had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.61 EPS. Analysts predict that Walmart will post 2.44 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Walmart news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total transaction of $313,228,886.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 611,988,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,245,498,149.60. The trade was a 0.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.04, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 2.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock worth $958,823,647 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Greenwood Gearhart Inc. raised its position in shares of Walmart by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Greenwood Gearhart Inc. now owns 425,297 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $34,342,000 after buying an additional 3,553 shares during the period. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 0.4% during the third quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC now owns 32,633 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,635,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Frisch Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart in the third quarter valued at $294,000. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC raised its position in Walmart by 0.7% in the third quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 26,801 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,164,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the period. Finally, Brophy Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,072,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.