BMO Capital Markets Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) had its target price lifted by equities research analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $80.00 to $100.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the retailer’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price target indicates a potential upside of 18.11% from the stock’s current price.

WMT has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $83.00 price target (up previously from $81.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, August 16th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $87.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.84.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WMT traded up $0.42 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $84.67. 4,516,729 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,656,996. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $81.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.98. The stock has a market cap of $680.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.02, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.51. Walmart has a one year low of $49.85 and a one year high of $85.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $169.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $168.56 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 21.72%. The company’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.61 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.64, for a total value of $2,348,559.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,873,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $312,322,993.92. This trade represents a 0.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,781,873,820.76. This trade represents a 0.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,337,337 shares of company stock worth $958,823,647 in the last quarter. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Oxbow Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 45.0% during the 3rd quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 28,453 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,298,000 after acquiring 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 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 587,001 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $47,400,000 after acquiring an additional 105,430 shares during the last quarter. Whalerock Point Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 213.5% during the 1st quarter. Whalerock Point Partners LLC now owns 29,613 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,782,000 after acquiring an additional 20,167 shares during the last quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 201.0% during the 1st quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 2,092 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $126,000 after acquiring an additional 1,397 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Walmart by 14.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,235,504 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $503,517,000 after purchasing an additional 809,352 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Walmart

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.