Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading 0.6% Higher After Analyst Upgrade

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) rose 0.6% on Wednesday after Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on the stock from $71.00 to $73.00. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a hold rating on the stock. Walmart traded as high as $68.66 and last traded at $68.53. Approximately 5,429,658 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 69% from the average daily volume of 17,310,600 shares. The stock had previously closed at $68.13.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on WMT. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Walmart from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Walmart from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.56.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.23, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.82, for a total transaction of $1,944,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 144,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,386,389.74. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.23, for a total value of $1,899,758.52. Following the completion of the sale, 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. Insiders sold 14,540,863 shares of company stock worth $954,455,147 over the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $173,000. Dakota Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 15,731 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,480,000 after purchasing an additional 876 shares during the period. Private Client Services LLC bought a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at $331,000. Flputnam Investment Management Co. increased its stake in Walmart by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 35,085 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,531,000 after acquiring an additional 340 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DGS Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 4,038 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $637,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average is $68.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.08. The company has a market capitalization of $551.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.29, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $161.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $159.57 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.57% and a net margin of 2.88%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.49 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.