Sanford C. Bernstein Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) had its price objective hoisted by Sanford C. Bernstein from $98.00 to $102.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the retailer’s stock. Sanford C. Bernstein’s target price points to a potential upside of 15.49% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on WMT. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Walmart from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. DA Davidson upped their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Telsey Advisory Group upped their price target on Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays increased their target price on Walmart from $66.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their target price on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.49.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE:WMT opened at $88.32 on Wednesday. Walmart has a 1 year low of $49.85 and a 1 year high of $88.64. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $81.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $73.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The company has a market capitalization of $709.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.25, a P/E/G ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.51.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.51 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Walmart will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,063 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.76, for a total transaction of $166,607.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 459,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,113,904.08. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total transaction of $313,228,886.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 611,988,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,245,498,149.60. The trade was a 0.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock valued at $958,823,647 over the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 0.5% in the third quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 23,720 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,915,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 0.3% in the third quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 43,549 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,591,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 0.4% in the third quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC now owns 32,633 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,635,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. CAP Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 2.1% in the third quarter. CAP Partners LLC now owns 6,054 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $489,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Investment Advisory Group LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 2.1% in the third quarter. Investment Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,182 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $499,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the period. 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.