UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) had its price target boosted by research analysts at UBS Group from $100.00 to $113.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the retailer’s stock. UBS Group’s target price points to a potential upside of 15.27% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. DZ Bank downgraded shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $91.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.11.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE WMT traded down $0.62 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $98.03. 6,543,025 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,563,379. Walmart has a 1 year low of $55.04 and a 1 year high of $99.00. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $92.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $82.90. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $787.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.23, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its 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. The firm had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.51 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Walmart will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.62, for a total transaction of $2,697,464.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,766,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $348,852,396.42. This represents a 0.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz bought 5,446 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $91.81 per share, with a total value of $499,997.26. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 7,805 shares in the company, valued at $716,577.05. This represents a 230.86 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 137,177 shares of company stock worth $12,649,328. Corporate 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 company. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 479.6% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 18,479,259 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,492,200,000 after buying an additional 15,290,936 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 12.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,098,203,000 after buying an additional 7,200,004 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted 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 buying an additional 6,885,106 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 3.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,048,465,000 after buying an additional 2,786,061 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 4.6% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,848,533,000 after purchasing an additional 2,107,197 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is 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.