Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price Up 1.1% Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) were up 1.1% on Wednesday after Oppenheimer raised their price target on the stock from $100.00 to $110.00. Oppenheimer currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Walmart traded as high as $102.14 and last traded at $101.88. Approximately 3,315,250 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 14,794,761 shares. The stock had previously closed at $100.77.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $83.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $96.01.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz bought 5,446 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $91.81 per share, for a total transaction of $499,997.26. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 7,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $716,577.05. This represents a 230.86 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.44, for a total value of $2,663,098.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,814,805 shares in the company, valued at $348,825,769.20. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 175,177 shares of company stock worth $16,403,728 over the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 77.3% during the third quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Trading Up 1.7 %

The business’s 50 day moving average is $93.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $83.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $823.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.05, a PEG ratio of 4.49 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 (NYSE:WMT) last released its earnings results 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 firm 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 period in the previous year, the company earned $0.51 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current year.

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.