Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Lifted to Buy at Truist Financial

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) was upgraded by Truist Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. The firm presently has a $89.00 target price on the retailer’s stock, up from their previous target price of $76.00. Truist Financial’s price target points to a potential upside of 9.30% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Bank of America raised their price objective 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. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $80.19.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $81.43 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $654.55 billion, a PE ratio of 34.85, a PEG ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.51. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $73.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $67.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.80. Walmart has a twelve month low of $49.85 and a twelve month high of $81.60.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.02. The firm 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.61 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Walmart will post 2.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 25,578 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.58, for a total value of $1,728,561.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 390,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,367,350.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,398 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total transaction of $166,661.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 463,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,239,034.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 25,578 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.58, for a total value of $1,728,561.24. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 390,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,367,350.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 12,317,999 shares of company stock worth $956,341,379. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. AHL Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 15,785 shares during the period. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Walmart by 38.9% during the 4th quarter. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,501 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $237,000 after acquiring an additional 420 shares during the last quarter. Liberty Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Walmart during the 1st quarter worth approximately $270,000. Commerce Bank boosted its position in Walmart by 189.4% during the 1st quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 917,625 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $55,213,000 after acquiring an additional 600,521 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised 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 in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.