Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading 1.8% Higher Following Analyst Upgrade

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) was up 1.8% during mid-day trading on Friday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $78.00 to $90.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Walmart traded as high as $90.04 and last traded at $89.99. Approximately 4,394,733 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 16,797,002 shares. The stock had previously closed at $88.39.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on WMT. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price objective on Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Walmart from $89.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Walmart from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $91.88.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total value of $246,360.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 378,165 shares in the company, valued at $31,054,909.80. This represents a 0.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,375,563 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.96, for a total value of $182,823,328.48. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 619,646,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,687,998,026.24. The trade was a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,337,337 shares of company stock valued at $958,823,647 over the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 138.3% in the second quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 429 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Cultivar Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the second quarter worth $29,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 253.0% in the first quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC now owns 526 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $82.12 and a 200-day moving average of $73.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $726.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.07, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

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

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.