Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Price Target Raised to $105.00

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) had its price target boosted by Bank of America from $95.00 to $105.00 in a research report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the retailer’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Melius Research began coverage on Walmart in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Walmart from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Walmart from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.88.

Walmart Price Performance

Walmart stock opened at $90.44 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $82.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.75. Walmart has a 12 month low of $49.85 and a 12 month high of $90.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $726.94 billion, a PE ratio of 37.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.51.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.51 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Walmart will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 630,501,148 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,781,873,820.76. This represents a 0.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total value of $313,228,886.80. Following the sale, the insider now owns 611,988,318 shares in the company, valued at $47,245,498,149.60. This represents a 0.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock valued at $958,823,647. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. increased its holdings in Walmart by 77.3% in the third quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Hoese & Co LLP acquired a new stake in Walmart during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in Walmart during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

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.