Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading 0.6% Higher Following Analyst Upgrade

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) shot up 0.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Telsey Advisory Group raised their price target on the stock from $82.00 to $92.00. Telsey Advisory Group currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Walmart traded as high as $80.30 and last traded at $80.19. 2,344,246 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 17,305,523 shares. The stock had previously closed at $79.71.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. StockNews.com upgraded Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $74.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $81.96.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.61, for a total transaction of $2,056,445.64. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,931,301 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $277,589,163.61. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.61, for a total transaction of $2,056,445.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,931,301 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $277,589,163.61. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.04, for a total transaction of $1,063,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 606,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,123,611.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,337,670 shares of company stock valued at $958,267,937 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Northwest Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Walmart by 199.3% during the 1st quarter. Northwest Capital Management Inc now owns 440 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. 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 last quarter. Cultivar Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the second quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Able Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $640.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.02, a P/E/G ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.51. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $76.12 and a 200-day moving average of $68.61.

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