Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Shares Up 0.3% After Analyst Upgrade

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) rose 0.3% on Friday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $88.00 to $90.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Walmart traded as high as $82.53 and last traded at $82.16. Approximately 2,996,895 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 16,802,934 shares. The stock had previously closed at $81.95.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on WMT. Citigroup lifted their target price on Walmart from $75.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Walmart from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays upped their price target on Walmart from $66.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.89.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.79, for a total value of $2,411,175.96. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,843,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $318,238,881.91. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.79, for a total value of $2,411,175.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,843,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $318,238,881.91. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total value of $209,607,941.31. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 630,501,148 shares in the company, valued at $48,781,873,820.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,334,337 shares of company stock valued at $958,577,287. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in Walmart in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC raised its position in Walmart by 138.3% during the second quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 429 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Cultivar Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Walmart by 253.0% in the first quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC now owns 526 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 216.4% during the 1st quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 503 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $79.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $71.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $660.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.73, a P/E/G ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

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

Walmart Company Profile

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.