Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Price Target Raised to $89.00

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) had its target price increased by Morgan Stanley from $82.00 to $89.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the retailer’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on WMT. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Walmart from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Redburn Atlantic raised Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Walmart in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $84.84.

Walmart Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of WMT stock opened at $84.47 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $80.99 and a 200-day moving average of $72.53. The firm has a market cap of $678.99 billion, a PE ratio of 43.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Walmart has a 12 month low of $49.85 and a 12 month high of $85.79.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 21.72%. The firm had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $168.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.61 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Walmart will post 2.44 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total value of $246,360.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 378,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,054,909.80. This represents a 0.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,375,563 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.96, for a total value of $182,823,328.48. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 619,646,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,687,998,026.24. The trade was a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,337,337 shares of company stock worth $958,823,647 over the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Paloma Partners Management Co grew its stake in Walmart by 593.1% in the 3rd quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 55,674 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,496,000 after buying an additional 66,964 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the third quarter worth approximately $807,000. Royal Capital Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 48.3% in the third quarter. Royal Capital Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,637 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,263,000 after purchasing an additional 5,090 shares during the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth $112,000. Finally, B&L Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the third quarter valued at about $309,000. 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.