Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Piper Sandler Analyst Says

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) had its target price lifted by Piper Sandler from $93.00 to $118.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Piper Sandler currently has an overweight rating on the retailer’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Citigroup increased their target price on Walmart from $98.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com lowered Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $101.87.

Walmart Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $103.73 on Tuesday. Walmart has a 1 year low of $57.60 and a 1 year high of $105.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $833.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $95.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $85.80.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.51 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Walmart will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,814,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $348,825,769.20. This represents a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total value of $166,658.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 460,705 shares in the company, valued at $41,956,404.35. This trade represents a 0.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 175,177 shares of company stock worth $16,403,728 over the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $5,737,355,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $2,306,627,000. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 479.6% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 18,479,259 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,492,200,000 after acquiring an additional 15,290,936 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 12.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,098,203,000 after acquiring an additional 7,200,004 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 8,814.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 6,963,218 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $562,280,000 after acquiring an additional 6,885,106 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.