Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading 0.2% Higher on Analyst Upgrade

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) shares rose 0.2% during trading on Friday after Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on the stock from $90.00 to $100.00. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Walmart traded as high as $84.78 and last traded at $84.64. Approximately 3,523,622 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 16,649,309 shares. The stock had previously closed at $84.47.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Melius Research started coverage on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $95.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, August 16th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Walmart from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Walmart in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.18.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total transaction of $246,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 378,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,054,909.80. This trade represents a 0.79 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.64, for a total transaction of $2,348,559.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,873,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $312,322,993.92. This trade represents a 0.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock valued at $958,823,647. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Oxbow Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 45.0% in the 3rd quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 28,453 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,298,000 after buying an additional 8,834 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 21.9% in the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 587,001 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $47,400,000 after acquiring an additional 105,430 shares during the last quarter. Whalerock Point Partners LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 213.5% in the first quarter. Whalerock Point Partners LLC now owns 29,613 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,782,000 after purchasing an additional 20,167 shares during the period. WFA Asset Management Corp raised its stake in Walmart by 201.0% during the first quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 2,092 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $126,000 after purchasing an additional 1,397 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 14.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,235,504 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $503,517,000 after purchasing an additional 809,352 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $677.22 billion, a PE ratio of 43.80, a PEG ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $81.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.78.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $168.56 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.72% and a net margin of 2.34%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.61 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.