BMO Capital Markets Issues Positive Forecast for Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) had its target price upped by BMO Capital Markets from $80.00 to $100.00 in a research note published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the retailer’s stock.

WMT has been the topic of several other reports. KeyCorp increased their price target on Walmart from $87.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. DA Davidson increased their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Walmart from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Walmart from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Walmart from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.49.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $88.32 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $81.92 and a 200 day moving average of $73.54. Walmart has a 12 month low of $49.85 and a 12 month high of $88.64. The firm has a market cap of $709.94 billion, a PE ratio of 36.25, a PEG ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

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

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.48, for a total transaction of $232,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 384,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,765,104.20. This represents a 0.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,063 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.76, for a total transaction of $166,607.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 459,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,113,904.08. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock worth $958,823,647. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 3.6% during the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 88,188 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,121,000 after purchasing an additional 3,043 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart during the third quarter worth about $504,000. Aldebaran Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Walmart by 10.9% in the third quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. now owns 22,250 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,797,000 after buying an additional 2,191 shares in the last quarter. Tri Ri Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in Walmart in the third quarter valued at about $1,450,000. Finally, SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. increased its holdings in Walmart by 4.2% in the third quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 9,052 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $731,000 after buying an additional 364 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.