Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price Up 1.1% Following Analyst Upgrade

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s share price traded up 1.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Oppenheimer raised their price target on the stock from $100.00 to $110.00. Oppenheimer currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Walmart traded as high as $102.14 and last traded at $101.88. 3,315,250 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 14,794,761 shares. The stock had previously closed at $100.77.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $83.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $96.01.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.47, for a total value of $277,410.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 375,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,691,507.55. The trade was a 0.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total transaction of $166,658.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,705 shares in the company, valued at $41,956,404.35. This represents a 0.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 175,177 shares of company stock worth $16,403,728. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Walmart by 167.0% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 28,790 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,601,000 after acquiring an additional 18,009 shares during the last quarter. MMA Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. MMA Asset Management LLC now owns 3,504 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $317,000 after acquiring an additional 501 shares during the last quarter. Kinsale Capital Group Inc. grew its stake in Walmart by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Kinsale Capital Group Inc. now owns 132,091 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $11,934,000 after acquiring an additional 11,002 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 32.6% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 51,870 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,698,000 after acquiring an additional 12,738 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bridges Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Walmart by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 92,389 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,347,000 after acquiring an additional 9,162 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $823.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.05, a PEG ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.55. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $93.46 and its 200 day moving average is $83.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.51 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current 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.