Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Research Coverage Started at Melius Research

Melius Research assumed coverage on shares of Walmart (NYSE:WMT) in a research report report published on Monday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $95.00 target price on the retailer’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on WMT. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, August 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Buy and an average target price of $80.19.

Walmart Trading Up 0.9 %

Walmart stock opened at $81.43 on Monday. 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 has a 52 week low of $49.85 and a 52 week high of $81.60. The company has a market capitalization of $654.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.51. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $73.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.16.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.61, for a total transaction of $2,056,445.64. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,931,301 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $277,589,163.61. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,063 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.76, for a total value of $166,607.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 459,558 shares in the company, valued at $37,113,904.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.61, for a total value of $2,056,445.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,931,301 shares in the company, valued at approximately $277,589,163.61. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,317,999 shares of company stock worth $956,341,379. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Landmark Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Landmark Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,055 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,112,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Syverson Strege & Co lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 3,377 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $532,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Amussen Hunsaker Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Amussen Hunsaker Associates LLC now owns 15,979 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,519,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Per Stirling Capital Management LLC. grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Per Stirling Capital Management LLC. now owns 4,009 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $632,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Walmart by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 6,166 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $975,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.