Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Robert W. Baird Analyst Says

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) had its price objective increased by analysts at Robert W. Baird from $100.00 to $115.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the retailer’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 10.68% from the company’s previous close.

WMT has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. DZ Bank lowered shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $91.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $101.87.

Walmart Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE WMT opened at $103.90 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $834.69 billion, a PE ratio of 42.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart has a 52 week low of $57.60 and a 52 week high of $105.30. 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 50 day moving average price of $95.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $86.17.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $169.59 billion for 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Walmart will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,737,355,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at $2,306,627,000. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of 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 lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 12.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,098,203,000 after acquiring an additional 7,200,004 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Walmart by 8,814.4% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 6,963,218 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $562,280,000 after purchasing an additional 6,885,106 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

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.