Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Price Target Increased to $69.00 by Analysts at UBS Group

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) had its price target increased by UBS Group from $63.00 to $69.00 in a report published on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the retailer’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Walmart to $66.67 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 26th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Walmart from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $67.00 to $66.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Tigress Financial upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $68.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $61.94.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $60.60 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.24. Walmart has a 12 month low of $48.34 and a 12 month high of $61.65. The business has a 50-day moving average of $60.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $56.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $488.32 billion, a PE ratio of 31.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.49.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $173.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $170.85 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.08% and a net margin of 2.39%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.57 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Walmart will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.2075 per share. This represents a $0.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, major shareholder Jim C. Walton sold 2,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.78, for a total transaction of $117,560.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 656,395,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,582,913,441.58. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Walmart news, major shareholder Jim C. Walton sold 2,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.78, for a total transaction of $117,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 656,395,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,582,913,441.58. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director S Robson Walton sold 5,816,175 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.95, for a total transaction of $337,066,728.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 677,052,654 shares in the company, valued at $39,237,458,141.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 29,019,140 shares of company stock valued at $1,696,045,631. Corporate insiders own 46.51% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Walmart during the third 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 worth $26,000 after buying an additional 293 shares during the last quarter. Partnership Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Able Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

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.