UBS Group Issues Positive Forecast for Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) had its price objective upped by UBS Group from $100.00 to $113.00 in a report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the retailer's stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Tigress Financial raised their price target on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $95.11.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE WMT opened at $97.97 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $92.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $82.90. Walmart has a 12-month low of $55.04 and a 12-month high of $99.00. The company has a market capitalization of $787.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.20, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The business had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $167.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.51 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Walmart will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 5,600 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.45, for a total value of $512,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 87,404 shares in the company, valued at $7,993,095.80. The trade was a 6.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total transaction of $166,658.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,956,404.35. This represents a 0.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 137,177 shares of company stock valued at $12,649,328 over the last quarter. Insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in Walmart by 479.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 18,479,259 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,492,200,000 after buying an additional 15,290,936 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 12.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer's stock worth $5,098,203,000 after purchasing an additional 7,200,004 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 8,814.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 6,963,218 shares of the retailer's stock worth $562,280,000 after purchasing an additional 6,885,106 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Walmart by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $7,048,465,000 after purchasing an additional 2,786,061 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,848,533,000 after purchasing an additional 2,107,197 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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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