Roth Mkm Reiterates “Buy” Rating for Walmart (NYSE:WMT)

Walmart (NYSE:WMT)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by Roth Mkm in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $108.00 target price on the retailer’s stock, up from their previous target price of $97.00. Roth Mkm’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 14.04% from the stock’s current price.

WMT has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.43.

Walmart Stock Down 2.6 %

Walmart stock opened at $94.70 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Walmart has a 1-year low of $57.77 and a 1-year high of $105.30. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $86.57. The company has a market cap of $760.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. The company had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Walmart will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.44, for a total transaction of $2,663,098.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,814,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $348,825,769.20. This trade represents a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total value of $166,384.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at $44,049,852.03. This represents a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 176,777 shares of company stock valued at $16,570,112 over the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $5,737,355,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth $2,306,627,000. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 479.6% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 18,479,259 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,492,200,000 after buying an additional 15,290,936 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,098,203,000 after buying an additional 7,200,004 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Walmart by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,020,800 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,893,079,000 after buying an additional 3,927,173 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.