Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) had its target price lifted by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the retailer’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 13.66% from the company’s previous close.

WMT has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Walmart from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Redburn Atlantic raised Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. DZ Bank lowered shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $91.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.69.

Walmart Price Performance

NYSE:WMT opened at $93.26 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $749.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.27, a P/E/G ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Walmart has a 52 week low of $53.44 and a 52 week high of $96.18. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $91.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.79.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total transaction of $166,658.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 460,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,956,404.35. This represents a 0.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total value of $1,215,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 566,794 shares in the company, valued at $52,485,124.40. This trade represents a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 97,928 shares of company stock worth $8,978,123 in the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 2,879 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 22.3% in the fourth quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 619 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 0.5% during the third quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 23,720 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,915,000 after buying an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Walmart by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,018 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $92,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the period. Finally, Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC now owns 13,903 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,256,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.