Evercore ISI Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) had its price target lifted by Evercore ISI from $66.00 to $89.00 in a research note released on Monday. They currently have an overweight rating on the retailer’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Walmart from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Walmart in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $86.71.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT stock opened at $84.09 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $81.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $73.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.80. Walmart has a 52-week low of $49.85 and a 52-week high of $85.79. The stock has a market cap of $675.94 billion, a PE ratio of 43.72, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.51.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider now owns 611,988,318 shares in the company, valued at $47,245,498,149.60. This represents a 0.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.48, for a total value of $232,440.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 384,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,765,104.20. This represents a 0.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock valued at $958,823,647. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WMT. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,048,465,000 after acquiring an additional 2,786,061 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 12.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,098,203,000 after purchasing an additional 7,200,004 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 181.0% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 56,861,234 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,421,342,000 after purchasing an additional 36,625,314 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,848,533,000 after purchasing an additional 2,107,197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in Walmart by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 36,282,740 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,456,704,000 after purchasing an additional 644,353 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.