Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Morgan Stanley Analyst Says

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) had its price target lifted by Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the retailer’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Walmart from $83.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their target price on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.69.

Walmart Stock Up 0.6 %

WMT opened at $93.75 on Tuesday. Walmart has a one year low of $53.44 and a one year high of $96.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $91.62 and its 200-day moving average is $81.87. The company has a market capitalization of $753.12 billion, a PE ratio of 38.47, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.51 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Walmart will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total value of $166,658.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 460,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,956,404.35. This represents a 0.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP David Chojnowski sold 5,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.45, for a total value of $512,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 87,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,993,095.80. This trade represents a 6.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 97,928 shares of company stock valued at $8,978,123. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Walmart by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,048,465,000 after purchasing an additional 2,786,061 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,098,203,000 after buying an additional 7,200,004 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,848,533,000 after buying an additional 2,107,197 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 41,501,782 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,392,658,000 after buying an additional 1,480,927 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 36,282,740 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,456,704,000 after buying an additional 644,353 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

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.