Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading Up 0.2% Following Analyst Upgrade

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) rose 0.2% during trading on Wednesday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $70.00 to $75.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Walmart traded as high as $68.01 and last traded at $67.90. Approximately 4,633,621 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 17,297,166 shares. The stock had previously closed at $67.74.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on WMT. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $71.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 1st. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 20th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.09.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 1,132,123 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.02, for a total value of $73,610,637.46. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 647,371,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,092,120,157.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Walmart news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 1,132,123 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.02, for a total transaction of $73,610,637.46. Following the sale, the insider now owns 647,371,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,092,120,157.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director S Robson Walton sold 3,540,250 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Friday, May 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.55, for a total transaction of $228,523,137.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 648,504,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,860,933,910.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 14,540,863 shares of company stock valued at $954,455,147. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Partnership Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Able Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Tidemark LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $68.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company has a market cap of $545.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.06, a PEG ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.50.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.08. Walmart had a net margin of 2.88% and a return on equity of 21.57%. The company had revenue of $161.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $159.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.49 earnings per share. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.43 EPS 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.