Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Price Target Raised to $85.00

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) had its price target hoisted by equities researchers at TD Cowen from $80.00 to $85.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the retailer’s stock. TD Cowen’s target price points to a potential upside of 16.33% from the stock’s previous close.

WMT has been the topic of several other research reports. HSBC boosted their price target on Walmart from $70.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Walmart from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Walmart from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $77.33.

Walmart Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE:WMT traded up $0.10 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $73.07. The company had a trading volume of 9,691,916 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,580,326. Walmart has a 12-month low of $49.85 and a 12-month high of $74.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $587.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.35, a PEG ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.50. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $68.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $63.19.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted 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 21.57% and a net margin of 2.88%. The business had revenue of $169.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $168.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.61 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.82, for a total transaction of $1,944,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 144,807 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,386,389.74. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 3,931,301 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $277,589,163.61. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.82, for a total transaction of $1,944,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 144,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,386,389.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,000,613 shares of company stock worth $725,932,010. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart in the first quarter worth $25,000. Northwest Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 199.3% in the first quarter. Northwest Capital Management Inc now owns 440 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 138.3% during the second 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. Cultivar Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Partnership Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently 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.