Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Given New $73.00 Price Target at Evercore ISI

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) had its price objective upped by Evercore ISI from $72.00 to $73.00 in a report published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the retailer’s stock.

WMT has been the subject of a number of other reports. Roth Mkm upped their target price on Walmart from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Walmart from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Walmart from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Walmart from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Walmart from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report on Monday, May 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $69.97.

Walmart Stock Performance

WMT opened at $68.03 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $63.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.58. The company has a market capitalization of $547.20 billion, a PE ratio of 29.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 0.52. Walmart has a 1 year low of $49.85 and a 1 year high of $68.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $161.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $159.57 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.57% and a net margin of 2.88%. The company’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.49 EPS. Research analysts expect that Walmart will post 2.42 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.81, for a total value of $798,131.25. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 645,517 shares in the company, valued at $39,253,888.77. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.45, for a total value of $1,760,545.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,047,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $244,687,515.15. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.81, for a total value of $798,131.25. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 645,517 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,253,888.77. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,493,971 shares of company stock worth $950,549,592. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. HM Payson & Co. raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 199.5% in the first quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 286,300 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $17,227,000 after purchasing an additional 190,716 shares during the last quarter. SRN Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 242.5% in the first quarter. SRN Advisors LLC now owns 18,628 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,121,000 after purchasing an additional 13,189 shares during the last quarter. Keynote Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the first quarter worth approximately $429,000. Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 202.4% in the first quarter. Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC now owns 23,900 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,438,000 after purchasing an additional 15,996 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IMS Capital Management increased its position in shares of Walmart by 207.1% during the first quarter. IMS Capital Management now owns 20,046 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,206,000 after acquiring an additional 13,518 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.