Barclays Increases Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Price Target to $78.00

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) had its price objective increased by Barclays from $66.00 to $78.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the retailer’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Walmart from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. KeyCorp upped their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Walmart from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $78.57.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $73.72 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $68.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $63.56. Walmart has a 1-year low of $49.85 and a 1-year high of $74.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company has a market cap of $592.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.50, a PEG ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.50.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $169.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $168.56 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.57% and a net margin of 2.88%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.61 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Walmart will post 2.43 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 3,633,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.80, for a total value of $242,737,840.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 636,898,811 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,544,840,574.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,398 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total value of $166,661.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 463,871 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,239,034.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 3,633,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.80, for a total value of $242,737,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 636,898,811 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,544,840,574.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 10,970,613 shares of company stock worth $723,987,410. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Partnership Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Able Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Tidemark LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

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.