Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Reaches New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday 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 $90.96 and last traded at $90.96, with a volume of 110507 shares. The stock had previously closed at $90.44.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Walmart from $83.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Walmart from $88.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Walmart from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $91.88.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total value of $313,228,886.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 611,988,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,245,498,149.60. This trade represents a 0.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.48, for a total value of $232,440.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 384,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,765,104.20. This represents a 0.77 % decrease in their position. 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. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sculati Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 25.9% in the third quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,454 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $683,000 after acquiring an additional 1,740 shares during the last quarter. Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,819,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 88,188 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,121,000 after buying an additional 3,043 shares during the period. Tudor Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the third quarter worth approximately $504,000. Finally, Aldebaran Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Walmart by 10.9% in the third quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. now owns 22,250 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,797,000 after buying an additional 2,191 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Trading Up 0.5 %

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $82.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $730.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.12, a PEG ratio of 4.29 and a beta of 0.51.

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. The business had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.51 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 EPS 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.