Barclays Issues Positive Forecast for Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) had its price target boosted by stock analysts at Barclays from $78.00 to $90.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the retailer’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 1.90% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $66.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Walmart from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group raised their price target on Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Two analysts have 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.88.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $88.32 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.85. Walmart has a fifty-two week low of $49.85 and a fifty-two week high of $88.64. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $81.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.54. The company has a market capitalization of $709.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.51.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.51 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now owns 630,501,148 shares in the company, valued at $48,781,873,820.76. This trade represents a 0.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total value of $246,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 378,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,054,909.80. The trade was a 0.79 % 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 over the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 3.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,048,465,000 after purchasing an additional 2,786,061 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,098,203,000 after buying an additional 7,200,004 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 4.6% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,848,533,000 after acquiring an additional 2,107,197 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in Walmart by 1.8% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 36,282,740 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,456,704,000 after acquiring an additional 644,353 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Walmart by 1.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,236,769 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,522,369,000 after acquiring an additional 350,881 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.