Walmart (NYSE:WMT – Get Free Report) had its target price raised by research analysts at UBS Group from $173.00 to $190.00 in a research report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the retailer’s stock. UBS Group’s target price indicates a potential upside of 22.54% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Raymond James boosted their target price on Walmart from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Walmart from $163.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Citigroup upped their price target on Walmart from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Friday, May 19th. StockNews.com started coverage on Walmart in a research report on Thursday. They set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Walmart from $165.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Friday, May 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $175.73.

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Check Out Our Latest Analysis on WMT

Walmart Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE:WMT opened at $155.05 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23. Walmart has a 12-month low of $128.07 and a 12-month high of $162.78. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $157.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $149.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $417.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.27, a P/E/G ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.50.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 17th. The retailer reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.15. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.30% and a net margin of 1.82%. The company had revenue of $161.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $160.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.77 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Walmart will post 6.25 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.74, for a total transaction of $626,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 39,975 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,265,681.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Walmart news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.02, for a total value of $90,012.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 245,255,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,793,283,517.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP David Chojnowski sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.74, for a total value of $626,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 39,975 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,265,681.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 8,764,313 shares of company stock valued at $1,354,672,677. Insiders own 46.51% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WMT. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich grew its position in Walmart by 93,272.8% during the 2nd quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 821,003,685 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $129,045,359,000 after acquiring an additional 820,124,410 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. boosted its position in Walmart by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 100,364,767 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $15,775,334,000 after buying an additional 430,215 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 25,499,791 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,995,749,000 after buying an additional 394,797 shares during the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 112,181.6% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 22,854,919 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,240,599,000 after buying an additional 22,834,564 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its position in Walmart by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 22,382,688 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,173,642,000 after buying an additional 1,923,199 shares during the last quarter. 31.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Walmart Inc engages in the operation of retail, wholesale, and other units 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, walmart.com.mx, walmart.ca, flipkart.com, and samsclub.com; and mobile commerce applications.

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