Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price Up 1.8% Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) shot up 1.8% on Friday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $78.00 to $90.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Walmart traded as high as $90.04 and last traded at $89.99. 4,394,733 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 16,797,002 shares. The stock had previously closed at $88.39.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Redburn Atlantic raised Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $66.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Melius Research began coverage on Walmart in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $91.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total value of $246,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 378,165 shares in the company, valued at $31,054,909.80. This trade represents a 0.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total transaction of $209,607,941.31. Following the sale, the insider now owns 630,501,148 shares in the company, valued at $48,781,873,820.76. This represents a 0.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock worth $958,823,647. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Walmart by 0.5% during the third quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 23,720 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,915,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 43,549 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,591,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC now owns 32,633 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,635,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. CAP Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 2.1% in the third quarter. CAP Partners LLC now owns 6,054 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $489,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Investment Advisory Group LLC grew its position in Walmart by 2.1% during the third quarter. Investment Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,182 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $499,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $81.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $73.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $726.34 billion, a PE ratio of 36.93, a PEG ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.51.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.51 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 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.