Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Rating Reiterated by Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler reaffirmed their overweight rating on shares of Walmart (NYSE:WMT) in a research note released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $83.00 target price on the retailer’s stock, up from their previous target price of $81.00.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group increased their price objective on Walmart from $74.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an outperform rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $78.57.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $73.45 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company has a market capitalization of $590.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.50. Walmart has a 12 month low of $49.85 and a 12 month high of $74.44. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $68.86 and a 200-day moving average of $63.43.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $168.56 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.88% and a return on equity of 21.57%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.61 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Walmart will post 2.43 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.19, for a total value of $207,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 387,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,787,946.35. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 8,791 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.00, for a total value of $597,788.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 94,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,420,220. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.19, for a total value of $207,570.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 387,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,787,946.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,000,613 shares of company stock valued at $725,932,010 in the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. ICW Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,451 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,436,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Rossmore Private Capital boosted its stake in Walmart by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Rossmore Private Capital now owns 20,504 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,232,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 21,377 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,370,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Landmark Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Landmark Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,055 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,112,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kelman Lazarov Inc. increased its stake in Walmart by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Kelman Lazarov Inc. now owns 3,928 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $619,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.