Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Rating Upgraded by Truist Financial

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) was upgraded by investment analysts at Truist Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday, Briefing.com reports. The firm presently has a $89.00 price objective on the retailer’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $76.00. Truist Financial’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 10.79% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price objective on Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Walmart from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Walmart from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Walmart from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $80.19.

Walmart Price Performance

NYSE:WMT opened at $80.33 on Tuesday. Walmart has a 52 week low of $49.85 and a 52 week high of $81.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The company has a market capitalization of $646.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.33, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.51. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $73.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.02.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.72% and a net margin of 2.34%. The company had revenue of $169.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $168.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.61 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Walmart will post 2.44 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.39, for a total value of $1,991,790.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,960,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $270,851,892.78. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Walmart news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 611,988,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,245,498,149.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.39, for a total value of $1,991,790.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,960,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $270,851,892.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,369,039 shares of company stock valued at $959,826,083 in the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Northwest Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 199.3% during the 1st quarter. Northwest Capital Management Inc now owns 440 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Cultivar Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Able Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. 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.