Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price Up 0.6% Following Analyst Upgrade

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s stock price traded up 0.6% during trading on Wednesday after Evercore ISI raised their price target on the stock from $82.00 to $85.00. Evercore ISI currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Walmart traded as high as $82.84 and last traded at $82.50. 2,404,993 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 17,002,373 shares. The stock had previously closed at $82.02.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Walmart from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Walmart from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Bank of America raised their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, August 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $83.51.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total value of $313,228,886.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 611,988,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,245,498,149.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.60, for a total value of $926,625.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 632,415 shares in the company, valued at $44,648,499. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total value of $313,228,886.80. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 611,988,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,245,498,149.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock valued at $958,267,901 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the first quarter worth $25,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 138.3% in the 2nd quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 429 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the period. Cultivar Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart in the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 253.0% during the first quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC now owns 526 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 377 shares during the period. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 216.4% in the first quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 503 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $78.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $69.99. The stock has a market cap of $663.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.07 and a beta of 0.51.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $168.56 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.72% and a net margin of 2.34%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.61 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 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.