Truist Financial Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) had its target price raised by Truist Financial from $107.00 to $111.00 in a report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the retailer’s stock.

WMT has been the topic of several other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $117.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 target price (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $104.94.

Walmart Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of WMT stock opened at $98.26 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $786.18 billion, a PE ratio of 40.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.70. Walmart has a 1 year low of $63.87 and a 1 year high of $105.30. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $91.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $92.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. The firm had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.60 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Walmart will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 17,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.42, for a total transaction of $1,661,792.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 348,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,891,867.94. This represents a 4.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.37, for a total value of $214,214.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 632,718 shares in the company, valued at $61,607,751.66. The trade was a 0.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 133,857 shares of company stock worth $12,444,743 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WMT. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 1,007.7% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Operose Advisors LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 319.7% during the 1st quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 319 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bear Mountain Capital Inc. grew its stake in Walmart by 98.2% during the 1st quarter. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. now owns 337 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.