Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Shares Up 0.2% on Analyst Upgrade

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) shot up 0.2% on Tuesday after Robert W. Baird raised their price target on the stock from $82.00 to $90.00. Robert W. Baird currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Walmart traded as high as $81.13 and last traded at $80.89. 3,118,131 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 17,393,572 shares. The stock had previously closed at $80.75.

WMT has been the topic of several other reports. Roth Mkm increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $71.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $66.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.62.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.04, for a total transaction of $1,063,650.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 606,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,123,611.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 630,501,148 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,781,873,820.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.04, for a total value of $1,063,650.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 606,165 shares in the company, valued at $49,123,611.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,334,670 shares of company stock valued at $958,025,027 over the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in Walmart during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Northwest Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in Walmart by 199.3% during the 1st quarter. Northwest Capital Management Inc now owns 440 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 138.3% during the 2nd quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 429 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Cultivar Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Able Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $74.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $67.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market cap of $653.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.78, a P/E/G ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 0.51.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.72% and a net margin of 2.34%. The firm had revenue of $169.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $168.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.61 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Company Profile

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.