Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-one research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $100.53.

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT stock opened at $104.04 on Monday. Walmart has a one year low of $55.99 and a one year high of $105.30. The company’s 50-day moving average is $94.99 and its 200 day moving average is $85.44. The company has a market capitalization of $835.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.51 EPS. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Walmart will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total transaction of $3,754,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 257,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,419,362.80. The trade was a 12.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.96, for a total transaction of $1,220,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 568,626 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,859,472.96. This represents a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 175,177 shares of company stock worth $16,403,728. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,937 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $538,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC now owns 3,431 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $310,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 10,232 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $924,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 15,685 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,417,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van Strum & Towne Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Van Strum & Towne Inc. now owns 6,849 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $619,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.