Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading Up 1.3% Following Analyst Upgrade

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) shares were up 1.3% during trading on Monday after Truist Financial upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a buy rating. Truist Financial now has a $89.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $76.00. Walmart traded as high as $80.17 and last traded at $80.08. Approximately 2,490,380 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 17,474,467 shares. The stock had previously closed at $79.06.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Roth Mkm raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $71.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.19.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.39, for a total transaction of $1,991,790.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,960,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $270,851,892.78. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total value of $313,228,886.80. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 611,988,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,245,498,149.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.39, for a total transaction of $1,991,790.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,960,402 shares in the company, valued at $270,851,892.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,360,248 shares of company stock valued at $959,228,295 over the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AHL Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Walmart by 192.1% in the 1st quarter. AHL Investment Management Inc. now owns 24,000 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,444,000 after buying an additional 15,785 shares during the last quarter. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Walmart by 38.9% in the 4th quarter. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,501 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $237,000 after buying an additional 420 shares during the last quarter. Liberty Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart in the 1st quarter valued at $270,000. Commerce Bank increased its stake in Walmart by 189.4% in the 1st quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 917,625 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $55,213,000 after buying an additional 600,521 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 290.7% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 270,065 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $16,250,000 after purchasing an additional 200,947 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Up 0.5 %

The company has a market capitalization of $649.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.51. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $73.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $169.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $168.56 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 21.72%. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.61 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.