Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading Up 0.3% Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) shot up 0.3% during mid-day trading on Friday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $88.00 to $90.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Walmart traded as high as $82.53 and last traded at $82.16. 2,996,895 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 16,802,934 shares. The stock had previously closed at $81.95.

WMT has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Citigroup increased their target price on Walmart from $75.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Truist Financial raised Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $76.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Walmart from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $83.89.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,063 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.76, for a total value of $166,607.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 459,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,113,904.08. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,063 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.76, for a total value of $166,607.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 459,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,113,904.08. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.48, for a total transaction of $232,440.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 384,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,765,104.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,334,337 shares of company stock worth $958,577,287 over the last three months. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Walmart by 199.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 411,745,334 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $24,774,717,000 after purchasing an additional 274,229,968 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Walmart by 181.0% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 56,861,234 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,421,342,000 after buying an additional 36,625,314 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 187.4% during the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 13,303,200 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $800,454,000 after acquiring an additional 8,674,100 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 284.0% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 11,122,273 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $669,227,000 after acquiring an additional 8,225,552 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 8,814.4% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 6,963,218 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $562,280,000 after acquiring an additional 6,885,106 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Up 0.3 %

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $79.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $71.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $660.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.81, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.51.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly 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. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.72% and a net margin of 2.34%. The company had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $168.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.61 EPS. Walmart’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current year.

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.