Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $72.09.

Several research analysts recently commented on WMT shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Walmart from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Walmart from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Walmart from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. TD Cowen upped their target price on Walmart from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Walmart from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, Director S Robson Walton sold 3,540,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.55, for a total transaction of $228,523,137.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 648,504,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,860,933,910.05. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director S Robson Walton sold 3,540,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.55, for a total transaction of $228,523,137.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 648,504,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,860,933,910.05. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,398 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total value of $166,661.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 463,871 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,239,034.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 14,540,863 shares of company stock valued at $954,455,147. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AHL Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Walmart by 192.1% during the 1st quarter. AHL Investment Management Inc. now owns 24,000 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,444,000 after buying an additional 15,785 shares during the last quarter. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. now owns 7,816 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,232,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 38.9% in the 4th quarter. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,501 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares during the last quarter. Liberty Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $270,000. Finally, Commerce Bank grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 189.4% in the 1st quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 917,625 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $55,213,000 after purchasing an additional 600,521 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of WMT stock opened at $66.91 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The company has a market cap of $538.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.63, a PEG ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 0.50. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $68.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $62.63. Walmart has a 1-year low of $49.85 and a 1-year high of $71.33.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.08. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.57% and a net margin of 2.88%. The firm had revenue of $161.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $159.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.49 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Walmart will post 2.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.