Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Shares Up 2.1% on Analyst Upgrade

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s stock price traded up 2.1% during trading on Tuesday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $100.00 to $106.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Walmart traded as high as $93.97 and last traded at $93.86. 3,989,417 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 13,707,559 shares. The stock had previously closed at $91.94.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on WMT. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Walmart from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Melius Research assumed coverage on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.69.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,054,909.80. The trade was a 0.79 % decrease in their position. The sale 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 Walmart stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.44, for a total transaction of $2,663,098.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,814,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $348,825,769.20. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 97,928 shares of company stock worth $8,978,123. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WMT. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Walmart by 77.3% in the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Hoese & Co LLP acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Up 0.2 %

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $91.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $81.79. The company has a market capitalization of $749.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.27, a PEG ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.51 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 EPS 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.