Truist Financial Issues Positive Forecast for Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) had its price target raised by Truist Financial from $89.00 to $98.00 in a research note released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the retailer’s stock.

WMT has been the subject of several other reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Melius Research initiated coverage on Walmart in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. Redburn Atlantic raised Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Walmart from $66.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Two equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $91.88.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $90.44 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $82.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $73.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $726.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.11, a P/E/G ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.51. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $49.85 and a fifty-two week high of $90.91.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. The business 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%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.51 EPS. Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Walmart will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,873,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $312,322,993.92. This trade represents a 0.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.48, for a total value of $232,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 384,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,765,104.20. This represents a 0.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock worth $958,823,647. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 181.0% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 56,861,234 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,421,342,000 after purchasing an additional 36,625,314 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 479.6% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 18,479,259 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,492,200,000 after buying an additional 15,290,936 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 284.0% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 11,122,273 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $669,227,000 after buying an additional 8,225,552 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased 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 acquiring an additional 7,200,004 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 8,814.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 6,963,218 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $562,280,000 after acquiring an additional 6,885,106 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.