Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Given New $96.00 Price Target at Evercore ISI

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) had its price objective upped by Evercore ISI from $94.00 to $96.00 in a report published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the retailer’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on WMT. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Walmart from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $92.11.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT stock opened at $93.50 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $83.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $75.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.85. Walmart has a 52-week low of $49.85 and a 52-week high of $93.59. The stock has a market cap of $751.58 billion, a PE ratio of 38.37, a PEG ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 0.54.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The business had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.51 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Walmart will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz purchased 5,446 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $91.81 per share, with a total value of $499,997.26. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 7,805 shares in the company, valued at $716,577.05. This trade represents a 230.86 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,375,563 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.96, for a total transaction of $182,823,328.48. Following the sale, the insider now owns 619,646,544 shares in the company, valued at $47,687,998,026.24. The trade was a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,673,023 shares of company stock valued at $753,365,984 over the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. 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 purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 43,549 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,591,000 after buying an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC now owns 32,633 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,635,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. CAP Partners LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 2.1% in the third quarter. CAP Partners LLC now owns 6,054 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $489,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Investment Advisory Group LLC grew its position in Walmart by 2.1% in the third quarter. Investment Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,182 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $499,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

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.