Evercore ISI Boosts Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Price Target to $85.00

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) had its price target hoisted by Evercore ISI from $82.00 to $85.00 in a research note published on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. Evercore ISI currently has an outperform rating on the retailer’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Guggenheim increased their target price on Walmart from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Walmart from $81.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Walmart from $81.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.51.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $82.51 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $79.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $70.33. Walmart has a 52-week low of $49.85 and a 52-week high of $83.34. The company has a market cap of $663.67 billion, a PE ratio of 35.26, a PEG ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 21.72%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.61 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Walmart will post 2.44 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,063 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.76, for a total value of $166,607.88. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 459,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,113,904.08. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,063 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.76, for a total transaction of $166,607.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 459,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,113,904.08. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.64, for a total transaction of $2,348,559.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,873,053 shares in the company, valued at $312,322,993.92. This trade represents 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 $958,784,857 over the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Investment Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 2.1% in the third quarter. Investment Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,182 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $499,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Professional Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Professional Financial Advisors LLC now owns 21,839 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,763,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 2.1% during the third quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 6,677 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $539,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co of the South boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.5% in the third quarter. Trust Co of the South now owns 25,647 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,071,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. Finally, LVZ Inc. grew its stake in Walmart by 1.9% in the second quarter. LVZ Inc. now owns 7,824 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $530,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

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.