Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading 0.2% Higher After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) rose 0.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Evercore ISI raised their price target on the stock from $94.00 to $96.00. Evercore ISI currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Walmart traded as high as $93.74 and last traded at $93.70. Approximately 3,723,721 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 16,826,482 shares. The stock had previously closed at $93.51.

WMT has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Barclays lifted their target price on Walmart from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.11.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,375,563 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.96, for a total transaction of $182,823,328.48. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 619,646,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,687,998,026.24. The trade was a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total transaction of $313,228,886.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 611,988,318 shares in the company, valued at $47,245,498,149.60. The trade was a 0.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,673,023 shares of company stock valued at $753,365,984 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 23,720 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,915,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.3% during the third quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 43,549 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,591,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 0.4% in the third quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC now owns 32,633 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,635,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. CAP Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 2.1% during the third quarter. CAP Partners LLC now owns 6,054 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $489,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Investment Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Investment Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,182 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $499,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $753.59 billion, a PE ratio of 38.45, a PEG ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 0.54. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $83.85 and its 200-day moving average is $75.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.51 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 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.