Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Earns Outperform Rating from Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada reiterated their outperform rating on shares of Walmart (NYSE:WMT) in a research report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $168.00 target price on the retailer’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on WMT. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $185.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on Walmart from $169.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, August 18th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Walmart from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Walmart from $176.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an overweight rating and set a $210.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, September 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Walmart presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $179.00.

Walmart Stock Performance

WMT stock opened at $155.30 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $162.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $157.90. Walmart has a 1-year low of $136.09 and a 1-year high of $169.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.26. The company has a market capitalization of $418.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.75, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.53.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 16th. The retailer reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.53. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.20% and a net margin of 2.55%. The company had revenue of $160.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $159.65 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.50 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Walmart will post 6.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.50, for a total value of $159,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 168,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,913,232.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.50, for a total value of $159,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 168,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,913,232.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 4,375 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.00, for a total value of $708,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 269,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,597,278. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 31,166 shares of company stock valued at $5,066,701 in the last three months. 46.51% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. AMI Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Walmart by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. AMI Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,269 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,231,000 after buying an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 36.8% during the 1st quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 4,820 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $718,000 after purchasing an additional 1,296 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 31.7% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,162 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $173,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the period. Ergoteles LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 123.9% during the 1st quarter. Ergoteles LLC now owns 10,566 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,573,000 after purchasing an additional 5,847 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 857,839 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $127,749,000 after purchasing an additional 13,985 shares during the period. 33.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Walmart

Walmart Inc engages in the operation of retail, wholesale, and other units 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, walmart.com.mx, walmart.ca, flipkart.com, and samsclub.com; and mobile commerce applications.