Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Price Target Raised to $98.00 at Barclays

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) had its price objective upped by Barclays from $90.00 to $98.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the retailer’s stock.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on WMT. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Evercore ISI raised their target price 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. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $93.95.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT stock opened at $91.65 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $90.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $80.29. The firm has a market cap of $736.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.61, a P/E/G ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Walmart has a 12 month low of $52.58 and a 12 month high of $96.18.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The business had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.51 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Walmart will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total value of $1,215,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 566,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,485,124.40. This trade represents a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,065 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.69, for a total transaction of $166,624.85. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 457,493 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,915,110.17. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 140,412 shares of company stock valued at $12,478,116 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,048,465,000 after purchasing an additional 2,786,061 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 12.9% during 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 in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in Walmart by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,848,533,000 after buying an additional 2,107,197 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Walmart by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 41,501,782 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,392,658,000 after acquiring an additional 1,480,927 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 36,282,740 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,456,704,000 after acquiring an additional 644,353 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.