Wells Fargo & Company Raises Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Price Target to $90.00

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) had its target price hoisted by Wells Fargo & Company from $88.00 to $90.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the retailer’s stock.

WMT has been the topic of several other research reports. TD Cowen raised their target price on Walmart from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target 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. Melius Research assumed coverage on Walmart in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Walmart from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, August 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $83.89.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT stock opened at $82.19 on Thursday. Walmart has a 1 year low of $49.85 and a 1 year high of $83.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $660.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.81, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The business’s 50-day moving average is $79.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $71.17.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $168.56 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 21.72%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.61 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Walmart will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total value of $209,607,941.31. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 630,501,148 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,781,873,820.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.96, for a total transaction of $1,088,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 593,040 shares in the company, valued at $49,198,598.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total transaction of $209,607,941.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 630,501,148 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,781,873,820.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 12,334,337 shares of company stock valued at $958,577,287. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 77.3% during the third quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Hoese & Co LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the third quarter worth about $33,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the first quarter worth about $25,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 138.3% during the 2nd quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 429 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cultivar Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. 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.