Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price Up 1.4% on Analyst Upgrade

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) was up 1.4% during trading on Friday after KeyCorp raised their price target on the stock from $87.00 to $88.00. KeyCorp currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Walmart traded as high as $85.13 and last traded at $85.02. Approximately 2,864,450 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 16,724,674 shares. The stock had previously closed at $83.85.

WMT has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $83.00 price objective (up from $81.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group upped their target price on Walmart from $82.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.64, for a total value of $2,348,559.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,873,053 shares in the company, valued at $312,322,993.92. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.64, for a total value of $2,348,559.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,873,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $312,322,993.92. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.48, for a total value of $232,440.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 384,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,765,104.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock worth $958,823,647. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CAP Partners LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 2.1% during the third quarter. CAP Partners LLC now owns 6,054 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $489,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Investment Advisory Group LLC increased 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 worth $499,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 9,413 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $760,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the period. Professional Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 0.6% during the third quarter. Professional Financial Advisors LLC now owns 21,839 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,763,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 2.1% during the third quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 6,677 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $539,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $80.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $71.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market cap of $681.88 billion, a PE ratio of 44.11, a P/E/G ratio of 4.18 and a beta of 0.51.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 21.72%. The business had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $168.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.61 EPS. Walmart’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current 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.