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

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday after Telsey Advisory Group raised their price target on the stock from $105.00 to $115.00. Telsey Advisory Group currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Walmart traded as high as $103.36 and last traded at $103.09, with a volume of 2117898 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $102.47.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $83.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $98.56.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.44, for a total transaction of $2,663,098.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,814,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $348,825,769.20. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total value of $3,754,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 257,281 shares in the company, valued at $25,419,362.80. This trade represents a 12.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 175,177 shares of company stock valued at $16,403,728. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 422,736,888 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $38,194,278,000 after acquiring an additional 2,050,683 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,048,465,000 after purchasing an additional 2,786,061 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,737,355,000. FMR LLC raised its position in Walmart by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,098,203,000 after buying an additional 7,200,004 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 48,793,045 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,408,452,000 after acquiring an additional 1,133,201 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a market capitalization of $826.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.55. The business’s 50-day moving average is $94.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.82.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued 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. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.51 EPS. Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Company Profile

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.