Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading 0.8% Higher After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) shot up 0.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after KeyCorp raised their price target on the stock from $96.00 to $100.00. KeyCorp currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Walmart traded as high as $95.39 and last traded at $95.34. 2,438,394 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 16,856,713 shares. The stock had previously closed at $94.55.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Walmart from $89.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, major shareholder Jim C. Walton sold 934,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.46, for a total transaction of $74,215,640.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 610,843,318 shares in the company, valued at $48,537,610,048.28. This trade represents a 0.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP David Chojnowski sold 5,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.45, for a total transaction of $512,120.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 87,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,993,095.80. The trade was a 6.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,243,091 shares of company stock worth $257,591,179 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brophy Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,072,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 4.6% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,848,533,000 after acquiring an additional 2,107,197 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Walmart by 1.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,236,769 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,522,369,000 after purchasing an additional 350,881 shares during the period. Oxbow Advisors LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 45.0% in the third quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 28,453 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,298,000 after purchasing an additional 8,834 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 21.9% during the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 587,001 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $47,400,000 after purchasing an additional 105,430 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $765.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.13, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $85.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $76.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued 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 company had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.51 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.