Sanford C. Bernstein Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) had its price target upped by research analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein from $98.00 to $102.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "outperform" rating on the retailer's stock. Sanford C. Bernstein's target price suggests a potential upside of 17.44% from the stock's current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on WMT. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $71.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Walmart from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Walmart from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $89.11.

Walmart Stock Performance

Walmart stock traded up $0.25 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $86.85. 8,141,328 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,795,326. Walmart has a 12 month low of $49.85 and a 12 month high of $88.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The business has a 50 day moving average of $81.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $698.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.19 and a beta of 0.51.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.72% and a net margin of 2.34%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.51 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Walmart will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total transaction of $313,228,886.80. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 611,988,318 shares of the company's stock, valued at $47,245,498,149.60. The trade was a 0.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total value of $209,607,941.31. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 630,501,148 shares of the company's stock, valued at $48,781,873,820.76. The trade was a 0.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock worth $958,823,647 over the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in Walmart during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart in the third quarter worth about $26,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 138.3% during the second quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 429 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the period. Cultivar Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 253.0% in the first quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC now owns 526 shares of the retailer's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 377 shares during the period. 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.

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