Sanford C. Bernstein Issues Positive Forecast for Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) had its price objective increased by Sanford C. Bernstein from $98.00 to $102.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the retailer’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Melius Research initiated coverage on Walmart in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group boosted their target price on Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $88.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $82.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Two research 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.88.

Walmart Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $90.44 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The business has a 50-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 price-to-earnings ratio of 37.07, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.51. Walmart has a 12 month low of $49.85 and a 12 month high of $90.91.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total transaction of $313,228,886.80. Following the sale, the insider now owns 611,988,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,245,498,149.60. The trade was a 0.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.96, for a total transaction of $1,088,850.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 593,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,198,598.40. This represents a 2.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock worth $958,823,647. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. WFA Asset Management Corp raised its position in shares of Walmart by 201.0% in the 1st quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 2,092 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $126,000 after purchasing an additional 1,397 shares during the last quarter. Dupont Capital Management Corp increased its stake in Walmart by 165.4% during the 1st quarter. Dupont Capital Management Corp now owns 270,147 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $16,255,000 after purchasing an additional 168,346 shares in the last quarter. Tiemann Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 186.8% during the 1st quarter. Tiemann Investment Advisors LLC now owns 12,218 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $735,000 after purchasing an additional 7,958 shares in the last quarter. InterOcean Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 211.0% in the first quarter. InterOcean Capital Group LLC now owns 1,710,257 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $102,906,000 after buying an additional 1,160,354 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 96.7% in the first quarter. Natixis now owns 921,820 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $55,466,000 after buying an additional 453,101 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.