Wells Fargo & Company Raises Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Price Target to $88.00

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) had its price objective hoisted by Wells Fargo & Company from $81.00 to $88.00 in a report issued on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the retailer’s stock.

WMT has been the subject of several other research reports. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Walmart from $74.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Walmart from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. One investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of Buy and a consensus price target of $80.19.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $81.43 on Monday. Walmart has a fifty-two week low of $49.85 and a fifty-two week high of $81.60. The company has a market cap of $654.55 billion, a PE ratio of 34.85, a P/E/G ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.80. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $73.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.16.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 21.72%. The firm had revenue of $169.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $168.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.61 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Walmart will post 2.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Walmart news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total value of $313,228,886.80. Following the sale, the insider now owns 611,988,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,245,498,149.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.60, for a total value of $926,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 632,415 shares in the company, valued at $44,648,499. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total transaction of $313,228,886.80. Following the sale, the insider now owns 611,988,318 shares in the company, valued at $47,245,498,149.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 12,317,999 shares of company stock valued at $956,341,379. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of WMT. Aveo Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,330 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $683,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,972 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,045,000 after buying an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 58.3% during the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 6,631 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,033,000 after buying an additional 2,443 shares during the last quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 81.1% during the 4th quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 4,832 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $762,000 after acquiring an additional 2,164 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cape Investment Advisory Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 106.5% in the 4th quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 640 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $101,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. 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.