UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) had its price target lifted by UBS Group from $92.00 to $100.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the retailer’s stock.

WMT has been the topic of several other reports. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price target on Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Walmart from $82.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Roth Mkm upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $71.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.88.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $90.44 on Wednesday. Walmart has a 12 month low of $49.85 and a 12 month high of $90.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $726.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.51. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $82.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.22.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. Walmart’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.51 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Walmart will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.48, for a total value of $232,440.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 384,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,765,104.20. This trade represents a 0.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.64, for a total transaction of $2,348,559.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,873,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $312,322,993.92. This represents a 0.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock worth $958,823,647 over the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in Walmart during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart in the third quarter worth about $26,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC grew its position in Walmart by 138.3% in the 2nd quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 429 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Cultivar Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 253.0% in the 1st quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC now owns 526 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.