Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading Up 0.9% on Analyst Upgrade

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) shares were up 0.9% during trading on Thursday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $96.00 to $100.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Walmart traded as high as $91.85 and last traded at $91.65. Approximately 13,426,350 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 4% from the average daily volume of 12,967,504 shares. The stock had previously closed at $90.81.

WMT has been the subject of a number of other reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. DZ Bank downgraded Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $91.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on Walmart from $89.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,065 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.69, for a total value of $166,624.85. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 457,493 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,915,110.17. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.79, for a total transaction of $2,411,175.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,843,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $318,238,881.91. This trade represents a 0.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 140,412 shares of company stock valued at $12,478,116. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,048,465,000 after buying an additional 2,786,061 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 12.9% during the third 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. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,848,533,000 after purchasing an additional 2,107,197 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Walmart by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 41,501,782 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,392,658,000 after buying an additional 1,480,927 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in Walmart by 1.8% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 36,282,740 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,456,704,000 after buying an additional 644,353 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Up 1.3 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $90.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $80.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $747.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.18, a PEG ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.55.

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