Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price Up 0.5% After Analyst Upgrade

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s share price rose 0.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on the stock from $105.00 to $111.00. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Walmart traded as high as $95.90 and last traded at $95.87. Approximately 3,528,085 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 16,866,055 shares. The stock had previously closed at $95.42.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on WMT. StockNews.com downgraded Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Roth Mkm boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $93.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.47, for a total value of $277,410.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 375,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,691,507.55. This trade represents a 0.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP David Chojnowski sold 5,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.45, for a total transaction of $512,120.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 87,404 shares in the company, valued at $7,993,095.80. This trade represents a 6.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 503,028 shares of company stock worth $40,368,211. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 77.3% in the third quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Hoese & Co LLP bought a new position in Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Cultivar Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the second quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Stock Up 0.5 %

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $86.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $77.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $770.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

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