Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Shares Up 1.8% Following Analyst Upgrade

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) shares shot up 1.8% during mid-day trading on Friday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $78.00 to $90.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Walmart traded as high as $90.04 and last traded at $89.99. 4,394,733 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 16,797,002 shares. The stock had previously closed at $88.39.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on WMT. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. KeyCorp upped their price target on Walmart from $88.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Walmart from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $66.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Two 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 611,988,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,245,498,149.60. This represents a 0.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total value of $246,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 378,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,054,909.80. This trade represents a 0.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,337,337 shares of company stock valued at $958,823,647 over the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sculati Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 25.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,454 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $683,000 after purchasing an additional 1,740 shares in the last quarter. Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart in the third quarter valued at $1,819,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 3.6% in the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 88,188 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,121,000 after buying an additional 3,043 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth $504,000. Finally, Aldebaran Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. now owns 22,250 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,797,000 after buying an additional 2,191 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Up 2.3 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $82.12 and its 200 day moving average is $73.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $726.94 billion, a PE ratio of 37.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.51.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.51 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share 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.