Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading Up 0.6% After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) were up 0.6% on Wednesday after Evercore ISI raised their price target on the stock from $82.00 to $85.00. Evercore ISI currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Walmart traded as high as $82.84 and last traded at $82.50. Approximately 2,404,993 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 17,002,373 shares. The stock had previously closed at $82.02.

WMT has been the topic of several other research reports. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, August 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Walmart from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Walmart from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Barclays raised their price target on Walmart from $66.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.51.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total value of $313,228,886.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 611,988,318 shares in the company, valued at $47,245,498,149.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total value of $313,228,886.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 611,988,318 shares in the company, valued at $47,245,498,149.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 606,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,123,611.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,295,088 shares of company stock valued at $955,284,831. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Investment Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Investment Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,182 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $499,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the period. Professional Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.6% in the third quarter. Professional Financial Advisors LLC now owns 21,839 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,763,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 2.1% in the third quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 6,677 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $539,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co of the South raised its position in shares of Walmart by 0.5% in the third quarter. Trust Co of the South now owns 25,647 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,071,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. Finally, LVZ Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. LVZ Inc. now owns 7,824 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $530,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Down 0.3 %

The firm has a market cap of $667.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.18, a P/E/G ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 0.51. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $78.71 and its 200 day moving average is $70.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.80.

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