Evercore ISI Raises Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Price Target to $89.00

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) had its price objective hoisted by Evercore ISI from $66.00 to $89.00 in a research report report published on Monday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the retailer’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Guggenheim upped their price objective on Walmart from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Barclays upped their price objective on Walmart from $66.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Walmart from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. StockNews.com upgraded Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Walmart from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Two equities research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $91.49.

Walmart Trading Up 1.3 %

Walmart stock opened at $88.32 on Monday. Walmart has a 12 month low of $49.85 and a 12 month high of $88.64. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $81.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $73.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a market capitalization of $709.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.51.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.51 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Walmart will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total transaction of $209,607,941.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 630,501,148 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,781,873,820.76. This represents a 0.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.96, for a total value of $1,088,850.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 593,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,198,598.40. This trade represents a 2.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock valued at $958,823,647. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 138.3% in the second quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 429 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the period. Cultivar Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 253.0% in the first quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC now owns 526 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 377 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Walmart

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.