Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price Expected to Rise, UBS Group Analyst Says

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) had its price target raised by equities researchers at UBS Group from $92.00 to $100.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the retailer's stock. UBS Group's target price points to a potential upside of 15.14% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Walmart from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Walmart from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. KeyCorp increased their price target on Walmart from $88.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. One equities research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $89.11.

Walmart Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE:WMT traded up $0.25 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $86.85. The company had a trading volume of 8,141,328 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,795,326. Walmart has a 1 year low of $49.85 and a 1 year high of $88.29. The company has a market cap of $698.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.14, a P/E/G ratio of 4.19 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a 50-day moving average of $81.58 and a 200 day moving average of $73.34. 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 - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 21.72%. The firm had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.51 earnings per share. Walmart's quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Walmart will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,375,563 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.96, for a total value of $182,823,328.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 619,646,544 shares of the company's stock, valued at $47,687,998,026.24. This represents a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total transaction of $246,360.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 378,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,054,909.80. The trade was a 0.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock worth $958,823,647. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 23,720 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,915,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.3% in the third quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 43,549 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,591,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the period. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 0.4% during the third quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC now owns 32,633 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,635,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. CAP Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. CAP Partners LLC now owns 6,054 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $489,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Investment Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Investment Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,182 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $499,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Walmart Company Profile

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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