Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Given New $100.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) had its price target lifted by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $89.00 to $100.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the retailer’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price points to a potential upside of 13.22% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on WMT. Roth Mkm boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $71.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $66.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $91.49.

Walmart Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE:WMT opened at $88.32 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $709.94 billion, a PE ratio of 36.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.51. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $81.92 and its 200 day moving average is $73.54. Walmart has a 12 month low of $49.85 and a 12 month high of $88.64.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion for 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%. Walmart’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.51 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Walmart will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.96, for a total transaction of $1,088,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 593,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,198,598.40. This trade represents a 2.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of Walmart 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 transaction, the insider now owns 630,501,148 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,781,873,820.76. The trade was a 0.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock worth $958,823,647. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.6% during the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 88,188 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,121,000 after purchasing an additional 3,043 shares during the last quarter. Tudor Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the third quarter valued at approximately $504,000. Aldebaran Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Walmart by 10.9% during the third quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. now owns 22,250 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,797,000 after acquiring an additional 2,191 shares in the last quarter. Tri Ri Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,450,000. Finally, SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. increased its position in shares of Walmart by 4.2% during the third quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 9,052 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $731,000 after acquiring an additional 364 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.