Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Hits New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday after Evercore ISI raised their price target on the stock from $82.00 to $85.00. Evercore ISI currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Walmart traded as high as $82.77 and last traded at $82.77, with a volume of 1862309 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $82.02.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on WMT. Barclays raised their price target on Walmart from $66.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Walmart from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Walmart from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $83.51.

Insider Activity

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,063 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.76, for a total transaction of $166,607.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 459,558 shares in the company, valued at $37,113,904.08. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,063 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.76, for a total transaction of $166,607.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 459,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,113,904.08. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 611,988,318 shares in the company, valued at $47,245,498,149.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % 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 valued at $958,267,901. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 2.3% during the third quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 32,005 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,584,000 after acquiring an additional 725 shares during the last quarter. Rogco LP lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 682.5% during the 3rd quarter. Rogco LP now owns 51,757 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,179,000 after purchasing an additional 45,143 shares during the period. Jackson Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.5% during the third quarter. Jackson Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,901 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $719,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 6.8% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC now owns 26,216 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,131,000 after purchasing an additional 1,672 shares during the period. Finally, Grimes & Company Inc. lifted its position in Walmart by 3.6% during the third quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 15,055 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,216,000 after buying an additional 528 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Up 0.5 %

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $69.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $663.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.07 and a beta of 0.51.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $169.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $168.56 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 21.72%. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.61 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share 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.