Evercore ISI Raises Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Price Target to $89.00

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) had its price target lifted by investment analysts at Evercore ISI from $66.00 to $89.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the retailer’s stock. Evercore ISI’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 5.90% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also commented on WMT. DA Davidson upped their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Redburn Atlantic raised Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Walmart from $83.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Walmart from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $87.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.71.

Walmart Price Performance

Walmart stock traded down $0.21 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $84.04. 15,210,652 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,704,951. Walmart has a 52-week low of $49.85 and a 52-week high of $85.79. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $81.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $72.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.80. The company has a market cap of $675.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.70, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.51.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.72% and a net margin of 2.34%. The firm had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $168.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.61 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Walmart will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total transaction of $313,228,886.80. Following the sale, the insider now owns 611,988,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,245,498,149.60. The trade was a 0.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was 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 approximately $48,781,873,820.76. The trade was a 0.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock worth $958,823,647 in the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its position in Walmart by 3.1% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 2,337,363 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $188,742,000 after purchasing an additional 71,075 shares during the last quarter. Strait & Sound Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Walmart by 6.1% during the third quarter. Strait & Sound Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,651 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,506,000 after purchasing an additional 1,068 shares during the last quarter. Synergy Financial Group LTD acquired a new position in Walmart during the third quarter worth approximately $266,000. RB Capital Management LLC increased its position in Walmart by 1.1% during the third quarter. RB Capital Management LLC now owns 34,053 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,750,000 after purchasing an additional 364 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Dallas Securities Inc. grew its stake in Walmart by 9.7% during the third quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. now owns 29,411 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,375,000 after buying an additional 2,602 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

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.