Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Price Target Raised to $80.00

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) had its price objective upped by Jefferies Financial Group from $77.00 to $80.00 in a research note released on Monday. The firm currently has a buy rating on the retailer’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on WMT. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. They set an overweight rating and a $81.00 price target on the stock. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on Walmart from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Walmart from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $75.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Walmart from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $73.09.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of Walmart stock traded up $4.67 during trading on Monday, reaching $73.33. 36,060,973 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,547,551. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The company has a market capitalization of $589.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.50. Walmart has a 52-week low of $49.85 and a 52-week high of $74.44. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $68.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $63.12.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $169.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $168.56 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.57% and a net margin of 2.88%. The company’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.61 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Walmart will post 2.43 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 8,791 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.00, for a total transaction of $597,788.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 94,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,420,220. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 1,132,123 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.02, for a total value of $73,610,637.46. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 647,371,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,092,120,157.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP David Chojnowski sold 8,791 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.00, for a total transaction of $597,788.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 94,415 shares in the company, valued at $6,420,220. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 14,540,863 shares of company stock valued at $954,455,147. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in Walmart by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 36,282,740 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,456,704,000 after purchasing an additional 644,353 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Walmart by 0.8% in the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 4,592,715 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $310,973,000 after purchasing an additional 34,588 shares in the last quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 2,233.2% during the second quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC now owns 314,186 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $21,274,000 after buying an additional 300,720 shares in the last quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 9.7% during the 2nd quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 143,636 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $9,726,000 after acquiring an additional 12,691 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C boosted its holdings in Walmart by 84.2% in the 2nd quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C now owns 10,384 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $703,000 after purchasing an additional 4,747 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.