Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Price Target Raised to $98.00

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) had its price target hoisted by stock analysts at Barclays from $90.00 to $98.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the retailer’s stock. Barclays‘s price target indicates a potential upside of 5.34% from the company’s current price.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on WMT. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on Walmart from $81.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. KeyCorp increased their price target on Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Two equities research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.08.

Walmart Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of WMT opened at $93.03 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The business has a fifty day moving average of $90.38 and a 200 day moving average of $80.45. The company has a market cap of $747.35 billion, a PE ratio of 38.18, a P/E/G ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart has a 52-week low of $53.39 and a 52-week high of $96.18.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The firm had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.51 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Walmart will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,065 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.69, for a total value of $166,624.85. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 457,493 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,915,110.17. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total transaction of $2,689,601.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,785,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $349,609,579.70. This represents a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 140,412 shares of company stock worth $12,478,116. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WMT. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. boosted its stake in Walmart by 77.3% during the third quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Hoese & Co LLP acquired a new position in Walmart during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in Walmart in the third quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

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.