Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading Up 0.4% After Analyst Upgrade

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s share price rose 0.4% on Friday after Tigress Financial raised their price target on the stock from $86.00 to $115.00. Tigress Financial currently has a buy rating on the stock. Walmart traded as high as $94.52 and last traded at $94.29. Approximately 2,534,241 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 16,858,213 shares. The stock had previously closed at $93.88.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on WMT. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Walmart from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $93.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 375,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,691,507.55. This trade represents a 0.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 1,804,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.18, for a total value of $142,840,720.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 605,979,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,981,442,399.24. This represents a 0.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,309,091 shares of company stock worth $183,375,539 in the last three months. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 0.5% in the third quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 23,720 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,915,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 43,549 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,591,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC now owns 32,633 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,635,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. CAP Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 2.1% in the 3rd 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. Finally, Investment Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Trading Up 0.4 %

The business has a 50 day moving average of $86.10 and a 200 day moving average of $77.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $757.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.68, a PEG ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its 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. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.51 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict 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.