Sanford C. Bernstein Boosts Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Price Target to $102.00

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) had its target price boosted by Sanford C. Bernstein from $98.00 to $102.00 in a report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the retailer’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also commented on WMT. Roth Mkm upped 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Walmart from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Truist Financial upgraded shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $76.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $91.51.

Walmart Trading Up 0.7 %

WMT opened at $87.18 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $700.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.51. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $81.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $73.43. Walmart has a 1-year low of $49.85 and a 1-year high of $88.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.22.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The firm had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.51 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Walmart will post 2.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,375,563 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.96, for a total transaction of $182,823,328.48. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 619,646,544 shares in the company, valued at $47,687,998,026.24. This represents a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total transaction of $246,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 378,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,054,909.80. This represents a 0.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,337,337 shares of company stock valued at $958,823,647 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Oxbow Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 45.0% in the 3rd quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 28,453 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,298,000 after purchasing an additional 8,834 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 21.9% during the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 587,001 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $47,400,000 after purchasing an additional 105,430 shares during the period. Whalerock Point Partners LLC grew its position in Walmart by 213.5% in the 1st quarter. Whalerock Point Partners LLC now owns 29,613 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,782,000 after buying an additional 20,167 shares during the last quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp increased its stake in Walmart by 201.0% in the 1st quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 2,092 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $126,000 after buying an additional 1,397 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Walmart by 14.9% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,235,504 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $503,517,000 after buying an additional 809,352 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

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.