Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) had its price target boosted by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $82.00 to $89.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the retailer’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target points to a potential upside of 4.04% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on WMT. Guggenheim upped their price target on Walmart from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Walmart from $81.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Walmart from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.84.

Walmart Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of WMT opened at $85.54 on Tuesday. 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 capitalization of $687.59 billion, a PE ratio of 44.47, a P/E/G ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.51. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $80.82 and its 200-day moving average is $72.44. Walmart has a 12 month low of $49.85 and a 12 month high of $85.79.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total transaction of $246,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 378,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,054,909.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.96, for a total transaction of $1,088,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 593,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,198,598.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total transaction of $246,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 378,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,054,909.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 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 company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Walmart by 0.5% in the third quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 23,720 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,915,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. CAP Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. CAP Partners LLC now owns 6,054 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $489,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Investment Advisory Group LLC raised 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 valued at $499,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the period. Jag Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 1.4% in the third quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 9,413 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $760,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Carlson Capital Management boosted its stake in Walmart by 1.8% during the third quarter. Carlson Capital Management now owns 7,499 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $606,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

About Walmart

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.