Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) had its price target hoisted by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $89.00 to $100.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the retailer’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 14.88% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Melius Research began coverage on Walmart in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $90.44.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WMT traded up $0.45 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $87.05. 8,940,451 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,800,471. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $81.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.34. The stock has a market cap of $699.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.17, a PEG ratio of 4.19 and a beta of 0.51. Walmart has a 12-month low of $49.85 and a 12-month high of $88.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.72% and a net margin of 2.34%. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.51 EPS. Walmart’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Walmart will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total value of $246,360.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 378,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,054,909.80. The trade was a 0.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total transaction of $209,607,941.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 630,501,148 shares in the company, valued at $48,781,873,820.76. This trade represents a 0.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock worth $958,823,647. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Oxbow Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 45.0% in the third quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 28,453 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,298,000 after acquiring an additional 8,834 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 21.9% during the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 587,001 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $47,400,000 after buying an additional 105,430 shares in the last quarter. Whalerock Point Partners LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 213.5% during the 1st quarter. Whalerock Point Partners LLC now owns 29,613 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,782,000 after purchasing an additional 20,167 shares during the period. WFA Asset Management Corp increased its stake in Walmart by 201.0% in the 1st quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 2,092 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $126,000 after acquiring an additional 1,397 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Walmart by 14.9% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,235,504 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $503,517,000 after purchasing an additional 809,352 shares during the last quarter. 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.