Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading Up 0.2% After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) shot up 0.2% on Tuesday after Robert W. Baird raised their price target on the stock from $82.00 to $90.00. Robert W. Baird currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Walmart traded as high as $81.13 and last traded at $80.89. 3,118,131 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 17,393,572 shares. The stock had previously closed at $80.75.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on WMT. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $83.00 price target (up previously from $81.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, August 16th. HSBC boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $70.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $81.62.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.04, for a total value of $1,063,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 606,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,123,611.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of Walmart 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 630,501,148 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,781,873,820.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,334,670 shares of company stock worth $958,025,027 in the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of WMT. Able Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $48,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 138.3% in the second quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 429 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Stock Up 0.2 %

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 firm has a market capitalization of $650.21 billion, a PE ratio of 34.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 0.51. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $74.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $67.71.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 21.72%. The business had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $168.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.61 EPS. Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current fiscal 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.