Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Price Target Increased to $81.00 by Analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) had its price objective increased by The Goldman Sachs Group from $73.00 to $81.00 in a report published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the retailer’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the company. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Walmart from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Piper Sandler reissued an overweight rating and issued a $83.00 price target (up from $81.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday. HSBC upped their price target on Walmart from $70.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group raised their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $78.57.

Walmart Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $73.45 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $68.86 and its 200 day moving average is $63.43. Walmart has a 52 week low of $49.85 and a 52 week high of $74.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company has a market cap of $590.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.39, a PEG ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.50.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $169.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $168.56 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.88% and a return on equity of 21.57%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.61 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Walmart will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 1,132,123 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.02, for a total value of $73,610,637.46. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 647,371,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,092,120,157.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 1,132,123 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.02, for a total value of $73,610,637.46. Following the sale, the insider now owns 647,371,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,092,120,157.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.23, for a total transaction of $1,899,758.52. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,989,526 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $260,236,780.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,000,613 shares of company stock worth $725,932,010. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Walmart by 199.4% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 181.0% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 56,861,234 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,421,342,000 after acquiring an additional 36,625,314 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in shares of Walmart by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 36,282,740 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,456,704,000 after acquiring an additional 644,353 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Walmart by 183.0% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 29,172,985 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,755,339,000 after purchasing an additional 18,865,484 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,674,652,000. 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.