The Goldman Sachs Group Boosts Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Price Target to $73.00

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) had its price objective boosted by equities research analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $64.33 to $73.00 in a research note issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the retailer’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s target price suggests a potential upside of 13.39% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on WMT. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Walmart from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. KeyCorp raised their target price on Walmart from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Walmart from $62.00 to $63.33 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $54.33 to $58.67 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 19th. Finally, Stifel Europe increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $56.33 to $58.33 in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.19.

Walmart Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE WMT traded up $0.37 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $64.38. 10,371,433 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,685,721. Walmart has a 1 year low of $48.34 and a 1 year high of $64.57. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $60.25 and a 200 day moving average of $56.42. The stock has a market cap of $518.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $161.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $159.57 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.39% and a return on equity of 21.08%. The company’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.49 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Walmart will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, Director S Robson Walton sold 14,685,327 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.61, for a total value of $860,755,966.56. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 656,397,261 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,473,631,458.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 345,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.93, for a total value of $21,020,850.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 652,044,261 shares in the company, valued at $39,729,056,822.73. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director S Robson Walton sold 14,685,327 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.61, for a total value of $860,755,966.56. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 656,397,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,473,631,458.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 29,019,140 shares of company stock worth $1,696,045,631. Insiders own 46.51% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new position in Walmart in the first quarter valued at $493,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1,632.3% in the 1st quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 92,039 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,538,000 after buying an additional 86,726 shares during the period. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP grew its position in shares of Walmart by 200.0% during the first quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 5,676 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $342,000 after buying an additional 3,784 shares in the last quarter. XML Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 200.9% during the first quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 24,626 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,482,000 after buying an additional 16,443 shares during the period. Finally, Woodson Capital Management LP raised its holdings in Walmart by 201.0% in the first quarter. Woodson Capital Management LP now owns 295,000 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $17,750,000 after acquiring an additional 197,000 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.