Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading 0.4% Higher After Analyst Upgrade

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) shares traded up 0.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday after KeyCorp raised their price target on the stock from $87.00 to $88.00. KeyCorp currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Walmart traded as high as $84.34 and last traded at $83.76. 2,203,100 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 16,740,404 shares. The stock had previously closed at $83.44.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Melius Research started coverage on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $95.00 price target for the company. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $82.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, August 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Walmart from $66.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.92.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 611,988,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,245,498,149.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Walmart news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total transaction of $209,607,941.31. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 630,501,148 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,781,873,820.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 shares were sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total transaction of $313,228,886.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 611,988,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,245,498,149.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock worth $958,823,647. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings 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. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 253.0% in the 1st quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC now owns 526 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Up 0.5 %

The company has a market cap of $673.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.67, a P/E/G ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.51. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $80.22 and its 200-day moving average is $71.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $169.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $168.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.61 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share 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.