Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Receives Average Recommendation of “Buy” from Analysts

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the thirty research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $82.96.

WMT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, August 16th. DA Davidson upped their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Walmart from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Walmart from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th.

Walmart Trading Down 0.6 %

WMT opened at $80.81 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $650.00 billion, a PE ratio of 34.53, a P/E/G ratio of 4.07 and a beta of 0.51. Walmart has a one year low of $49.85 and a one year high of $81.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.80. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $78.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.83.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.61 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Walmart will post 2.44 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.04, for a total value of $1,063,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 606,165 shares in the company, valued at $49,123,611.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,065 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.69, for a total value of $166,624.85. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 457,493 shares in the company, valued at $36,915,110.17. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 606,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,123,611.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock valued at $958,267,901 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. AHL Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 192.1% during the first quarter. AHL Investment Management Inc. now owns 24,000 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,444,000 after purchasing an additional 15,785 shares during the last quarter. Liberty Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 1st quarter worth $270,000. Commerce Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 189.4% in the first quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 917,625 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $55,213,000 after acquiring an additional 600,521 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 290.7% during the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 270,065 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $16,250,000 after acquiring an additional 200,947 shares during the period. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 189.4% during the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 643,848 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $38,740,000 after purchasing an additional 421,366 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.