JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Positive Forecast for Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) had its target price raised by research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $97.00 to $112.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the retailer’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 10.71% from the stock’s previous close.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. KeyCorp upped their price target on Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays raised their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped 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. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $96.95.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $101.17 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $94.07 and a 200 day moving average of $84.26. Walmart has a 52 week low of $55.85 and a 52 week high of $103.11. The company has a market cap of $812.73 billion, a PE ratio of 41.52, a P/E/G ratio of 4.25 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.51 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Walmart will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz acquired 5,446 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were bought at an average price of $91.81 per share, with a total value of $499,997.26. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 7,805 shares in the company, 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, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total transaction of $166,658.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,956,404.35. This represents a 0.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 175,177 shares of company stock valued at $16,403,728 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WMT. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in Walmart by 107.5% during the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 631,589 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $57,064,000 after purchasing an additional 327,188 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 88.3% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 4,661 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $421,000 after buying an additional 2,186 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 687,919 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $62,144,000 after acquiring an additional 48,088 shares during the period. Essential Planning LLC. increased its holdings in Walmart by 6,536.0% in the 4th quarter. Essential Planning LLC. now owns 574,746 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $49,823,000 after acquiring an additional 566,085 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Walmart by 28,039.7% in the 4th quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,201,845 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $108,587,000 after acquiring an additional 1,197,574 shares in the last quarter. 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.