BMO Capital Markets Reiterates “Outperform” Rating for Walmart (NYSE:WMT)

BMO Capital Markets reissued their outperform rating on shares of Walmart (NYSE:WMT) in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $80.00 price objective on the retailer’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on WMT. StockNews.com downgraded Walmart from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report on Saturday, July 27th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Walmart from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Walmart from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Friday. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Walmart from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Walmart from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $78.57.

Walmart Price Performance

Walmart stock opened at $73.72 on Friday. Walmart has a 12 month low of $49.85 and a 12 month 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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $68.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $63.56. The company has a market cap of $592.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.50, a PEG ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.50.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.57% and a net margin of 2.88%. The business had revenue of $169.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $168.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.61 earnings per share. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Walmart will post 2.43 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.61, for a total value of $2,056,445.64. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,931,301 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $277,589,163.61. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.61, for a total transaction of $2,056,445.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,931,301 shares in the company, valued at $277,589,163.61. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.60, for a total transaction of $926,625.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 632,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,648,499. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 10,970,613 shares of company stock valued at $723,987,410 over the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Northwest Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 199.3% during the first quarter. Northwest Capital Management Inc now owns 440 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 138.3% during the second quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 429 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the period. Cultivar Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Partnership Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently 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.