Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Price Target Raised to $83.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) had its price target hoisted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $81.00 to $83.00 in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the retailer’s stock.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on WMT. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on Walmart from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $67.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $78.57.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT opened at $73.72 on Friday. Walmart has a 1 year low of $49.85 and a 1 year high of $74.44. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $68.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $63.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $592.97 billion, a PE ratio of 31.50, a P/E/G ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.80.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $169.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $168.56 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.88% and a return on equity of 21.57%. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.61 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Walmart will post 2.43 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 1,132,123 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.02, for a total transaction of $73,610,637.46. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 647,371,888 shares in the company, valued at $42,092,120,157.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Walmart news, Director S Robson Walton sold 982,038 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.39, for a total value of $64,215,464.82. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 644,511,850 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,144,629,871.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 1,132,123 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.02, for a total transaction of $73,610,637.46. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 647,371,888 shares in the company, valued at $42,092,120,157.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 10,970,613 shares of company stock worth $723,987,410. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WMT. EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 11.2% in the second quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 164,143 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $11,114,000 after acquiring an additional 16,545 shares during the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the 2nd quarter valued at $283,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 149.3% in the 2nd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 258,248 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $17,486,000 after purchasing an additional 154,641 shares during the last quarter. Traction Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 2nd quarter valued at $208,000. Finally, Regal Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 5.7% in the second quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 84,178 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,700,000 after purchasing an additional 4,564 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.