Walmart (NYSE:WMT) PT Raised to $88.00

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) had its price objective hoisted by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $81.00 to $88.00 in a research report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the retailer’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 9.05% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Walmart from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Walmart from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Walmart from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.19.

Walmart Stock Performance

WMT opened at $80.70 on Monday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $73.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $67.16. Walmart has a 52-week low of $49.85 and a 52-week high of $81.02. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $649.11 billion, a PE ratio of 34.49, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.51.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $168.56 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 21.72%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.61 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Walmart will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $48,781,873,820.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 630,501,148 shares in the company, valued at $48,781,873,820.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,063 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.76, for a total transaction of $166,607.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 459,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,113,904.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,360,248 shares of company stock valued at $959,228,295. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 85,145 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,765,000 after purchasing an additional 5,194 shares during the period. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. grew its position in Walmart by 24.2% during the second quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. now owns 110,054 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,452,000 after buying an additional 21,478 shares during the period. Verity & Verity LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 46.6% during the second quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 15,205 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,030,000 after buying an additional 4,835 shares during the last quarter. American Trust raised its position in Walmart by 2.4% in the second quarter. American Trust now owns 10,833 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $734,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the period. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in Walmart by 36.0% in the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 15,140 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,025,000 after acquiring an additional 4,008 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.