Walmart (NYSE:WMT – Get Free Report) had its price target increased by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $160.00 to $170.00 in a research report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the retailer’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target suggests a potential upside of 7.12% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on WMT. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on Walmart from $159.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Walmart from $163.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price objective on Walmart from $168.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Raymond James increased their price objective on Walmart from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded Walmart from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $145.00 to $210.00 in a report on Monday, July 24th. Four research 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.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $176.09.

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Walmart Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE WMT traded up $3.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $158.70. 2,938,026 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,973,225. The firm has a market capitalization of $427.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.15, a PEG ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $157.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $149.98. Walmart has a twelve month low of $128.07 and a twelve month high of $162.78.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 17th. The retailer reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $161.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $160.22 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.30% and a net margin of 1.82%. Walmart’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.77 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Walmart will post 6.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director S Robson Walton sold 170,587 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.12, for a total transaction of $25,608,520.44. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 244,364,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,684,001,141.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 9,708 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.04, for a total value of $1,505,128.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,490,621 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $231,105,879.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director S Robson Walton sold 170,587 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.12, for a total value of $25,608,520.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 244,364,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,684,001,141.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety 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

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its holdings in Walmart by 93,272.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 821,003,685 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $129,045,359,000 after acquiring an additional 820,124,410 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 22,834,564 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,598,736,000. Providence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1,164,937.0% in the 1st quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,718,400 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000,000 after purchasing an additional 4,717,995 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 7,546.2% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,166,995 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $467,747,000 after purchasing an additional 3,125,576 shares during the period. 31.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Walmart

(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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