Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Receives Average Rating of “Buy” from Brokerages

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) has been given a consensus rating of “Buy” by the thirty-one brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $83.92.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on WMT shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Walmart from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Walmart in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Walmart from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. 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 research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Melius Research began coverage on Walmart in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $95.00 target price for the company.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total transaction of $313,228,886.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 611,988,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,245,498,149.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total transaction of $313,228,886.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 611,988,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,245,498,149.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.48, for a total value of $232,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 384,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,765,104.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock worth $958,823,647 over the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 199.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 411,745,334 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $24,774,717,000 after acquiring an additional 274,229,968 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake 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 worth $3,421,342,000 after acquiring an additional 36,625,314 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 479.6% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 18,479,259 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,492,200,000 after purchasing an additional 15,290,936 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank increased its stake in Walmart by 187.4% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 13,303,200 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $800,454,000 after purchasing an additional 8,674,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in Walmart by 284.0% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 11,122,273 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $669,227,000 after buying an additional 8,225,552 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $84.87 on Friday. Walmart has a twelve month low of $49.85 and a twelve month high of $85.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The company has a market cap of $682.21 billion, a PE ratio of 44.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.18 and a beta of 0.51. The company’s 50 day moving average is $80.53 and its 200 day moving average is $71.92.

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. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.72% and a net margin of 2.34%. The firm had revenue of $169.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $168.56 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.61 earnings per share. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Walmart will post 2.44 EPS for the current year.

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.