Walmart’s (WMT) “Outperform” Rating Reaffirmed at Royal Bank Of Canada

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reiterated by Royal Bank Of Canada in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $137.00 price target on the retailer’s stock. Royal Bank Of Canada’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 19.22% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on WMT. Truist Financial set a $140.00 target price on Walmart in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $142.00 price objective on shares of Walmart and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their target price on shares of Walmart from $147.00 to $146.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $150.00 target price (up from $145.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.56.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WMT traded up $1.65 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $114.91. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,819,005 shares, compared to its average volume of 25,138,648. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.77. The company has a market cap of $914.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.31, a P/E/G ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.61. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $114.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $121.59. Walmart has a fifty-two week low of $95.42 and a fifty-two week high of $135.15.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.25% and a net margin of 3.13%.The business had revenue of $177.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $174.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.61 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Walmart has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.750-2.850 EPS and its Q2 2027 guidance at 0.720-0.740 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Walmart will post 2.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 3,775 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.64, for a total transaction of $413,891.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 630,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,074,186.76. The trade was a 0.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.63, for a total transaction of $2,303,320.08. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,174,579 shares in the company, valued at approximately $495,230,306.77. The trade was a 0.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 71,439 shares of company stock valued at $8,544,532. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Advisortrust Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 20.2% during the first quarter. Advisortrust Partners LLC now owns 67,142 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,344,000 after acquiring an additional 11,283 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 253.3% in the first quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA now owns 384,034 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $47,728,000 after purchasing an additional 275,337 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 2.9% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 2,416,580 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $300,333,000 after purchasing an additional 68,632 shares in the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. grew its stake in Walmart by 42.1% in the fourth quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 275,341 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $30,676,000 after purchasing an additional 81,635 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HORAN Wealth LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 55.7% in the first quarter. HORAN Wealth LLC now owns 81,544 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $9,931,000 after purchasing an additional 29,184 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

About Walmart

Walmart is a multinational retail corporation that operates a broad portfolio of store formats and digital services. Its core business includes large-format supercenters, discount department stores, neighborhood grocery stores and a membership warehouse chain, Sam’s Club. The company’s merchandising mix covers groceries, household goods, apparel, electronics and pharmacy services, supplemented by private-label products and category-specific offerings. Walmart pairs its physical store network with online platforms and mobile applications to provide omnichannel shopping, fulfillment and delivery options for consumers and businesses.

The company was founded by Sam Walton, who opened the first store in Rogers, Arkansas in 1962; it is headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas.