Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Hits New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) shares reached a new 52-week high on Monday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $78.00 to $90.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Walmart traded as high as $90.96 and last traded at $90.96, with a volume of 110507 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $90.44.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on WMT. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Walmart from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Walmart from $75.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.88.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related 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 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. This trade represents a 0.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total transaction of $246,360.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 378,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,054,909.80. The trade was a 0.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock valued at $958,823,647. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 3.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,048,465,000 after acquiring an additional 2,786,061 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 12.9% in 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. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,848,533,000 after purchasing an additional 2,107,197 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in Walmart by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 36,282,740 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,456,704,000 after acquiring an additional 644,353 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 1.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,236,769 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,522,369,000 after buying an additional 350,881 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $82.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.14. The firm has a market cap of $719.02 billion, a PE ratio of 36.71, a PEG ratio of 4.29 and a beta of 0.51.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.51 earnings per share. Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 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.