Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading 0.8% Higher After Analyst Upgrade

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) was up 0.8% during trading on Monday after Truist Financial raised their price target on the stock from $98.00 to $111.00. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the stock. Walmart traded as high as $102.33 and last traded at $101.96. Approximately 3,798,655 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 14,690,576 shares. The stock had previously closed at $101.15.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Barclays boosted their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Roth Mkm raised their target price on Walmart from $81.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $98.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the business’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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 257,281 shares in the company, valued at $25,419,362.80. The trade was a 12.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz acquired 5,446 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $91.81 per share, with a total value of $499,997.26. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 7,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $716,577.05. This represents a 230.86 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 175,177 shares of company stock valued at $16,403,728 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Walmart by 77.3% in the third quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Down 0.5 %

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $94.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $84.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock has a market cap of $822.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The business had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.51 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.