UBS Group Increases Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Price Target to $92.00

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) had its target price hoisted by analysts at UBS Group from $81.00 to $92.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the retailer’s stock. UBS Group’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 15.22% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $82.32.

Walmart Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of WMT stock traded up $0.24 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $79.85. 2,938,537 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,250,746. The business has a 50 day moving average of $76.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The company has a market capitalization of $641.85 billion, a PE ratio of 41.49, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.51. Walmart has a 52 week low of $49.85 and a 52 week 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. Walmart had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 21.72%. The company had revenue of $169.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $168.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.61 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Walmart will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.97, for a total transaction of $242,910.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 381,165 shares in the company, valued at $30,862,930.05. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 606,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,123,611.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.97, for a total transaction of $242,910.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 381,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,862,930.05. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,337,670 shares of company stock worth $958,267,937 in the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Walmart by 199.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 411,745,334 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $24,774,717,000 after purchasing an additional 274,229,968 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 181.0% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 56,861,234 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,421,342,000 after purchasing an additional 36,625,314 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.8% in the second 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 during the period. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in Walmart by 16.0% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 16,282,129 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,102,463,000 after buying an additional 2,246,656 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 5.4% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 16,184,945 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,095,946,000 after acquiring an additional 834,005 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.