Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Receives $83.92 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) have earned an average rating of “Buy” from the thirty ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twenty-eight have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $85.18.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on WMT shares. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $83.00 price target (up from $81.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Walmart from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Walmart from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. StockNews.com raised Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were 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. The trade was a 0.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.96, for a total transaction of $1,088,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 593,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,198,598.40. This trade represents a 2.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock valued at $958,823,647. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Commerce Bank increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 189.4% in the first 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. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 290.7% during the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 270,065 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $16,250,000 after acquiring an additional 200,947 shares during the period. Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the first quarter valued at approximately $723,000. Carson Advisory Inc. increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 206.5% during the first quarter. Carson Advisory Inc. now owns 10,144 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $610,000 after purchasing an additional 6,834 shares during the period. Finally, Anchor Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Walmart by 159.0% during the 1st quarter. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC now owns 263,650 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $15,864,000 after buying an additional 161,846 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $84.27 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Walmart has a 12 month low of $49.85 and a 12 month high of $85.79. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $81.14 and a 200 day moving average of $72.62. The firm has a market cap of $677.38 billion, a PE ratio of 43.81, a PEG ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 0.51.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $168.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.61 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Walmart will post 2.44 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.