Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Price Target Raised to $96.00

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) had its price objective raised by Wells Fargo & Company from $90.00 to $96.00 in a research note released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the retailer’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on WMT. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Walmart in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Walmart from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Walmart from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $91.88.

Walmart Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $90.44 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $726.94 billion, a PE ratio of 37.11, a P/E/G ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.51. Walmart has a 1 year low of $49.85 and a 1 year high of $90.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $82.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $73.75.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.51 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,375,563 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.96, for a total transaction of $182,823,328.48. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 619,646,544 shares in the company, valued at $47,687,998,026.24. This represents a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total value of $246,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 378,165 shares in the company, valued at $31,054,909.80. This trade represents a 0.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock worth $958,823,647 in the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Walmart by 77.3% in the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. Hoese & Co LLP bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 249 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

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.