Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading 1.8% Higher on Analyst Upgrade

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s share price rose 1.8% on Friday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $78.00 to $90.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Walmart traded as high as $90.04 and last traded at $89.99. Approximately 4,394,733 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 16,797,002 shares. The stock had previously closed at $88.39.

A number of other research firms have also commented on WMT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Walmart from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Melius Research assumed coverage on Walmart in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their target price on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Two 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $91.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total transaction of $246,360.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 378,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,054,909.80. This trade represents a 0.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total transaction of $209,607,941.31. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 630,501,148 shares in the company, valued at $48,781,873,820.76. This represents a 0.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock worth $958,823,647. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in Walmart during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 138.3% in the second quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 429 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the period. Cultivar Capital Inc. bought a new position in Walmart during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Walmart by 253.0% during the 1st quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC now owns 526 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $81.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $73.54. The firm has a market cap of $726.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. Walmart’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.51 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 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.