Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price Up 0.3% on Analyst Upgrade

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) shot up 0.3% on Friday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $81.00 to $92.00. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Walmart traded as high as $79.99 and last traded at $79.85. 1,960,633 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 17,243,506 shares. The stock had previously closed at $79.61.

WMT has been the topic of several other research reports. Barclays upped their target price on Walmart from $66.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Walmart from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Walmart from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Walmart from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $82.32.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.97, for a total value of $242,910.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 381,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,862,930.05. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.97, for a total transaction of $242,910.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 381,165 shares in the company, valued at $30,862,930.05. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,398 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total value of $166,661.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 463,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,239,034.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,337,670 shares of company stock worth $958,267,937. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Walmart by 199.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 411,745,334 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $24,774,717,000 after purchasing an additional 274,229,968 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Walmart by 181.0% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 56,861,234 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,421,342,000 after buying an additional 36,625,314 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in Walmart by 187.4% during the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 13,303,200 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $800,454,000 after acquiring an additional 8,674,100 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 284.0% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 11,122,273 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $669,227,000 after acquiring an additional 8,225,552 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 184.1% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 12,567,533 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $756,188,000 after purchasing an additional 8,144,393 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The business’s 50-day moving average is $76.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.68. The company has a market capitalization of $642.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.51.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $169.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $168.56 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 21.72%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.61 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current year.

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.