Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price Up 1% Following Analyst Upgrade

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded up 1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $82.00 to $89.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Walmart traded as high as $85.25 and last traded at $85.01. 2,422,683 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 16,682,094 shares. The stock had previously closed at $84.21.

WMT has been the topic of several other research reports. DA Davidson upped their target price on Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. KeyCorp upped their target price on Walmart from $87.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Walmart from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Walmart from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Walmart from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $84.15.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,375,563 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.96, for a total transaction of $182,823,328.48. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 619,646,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,687,998,026.24. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.48, for a total transaction of $232,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 384,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,765,104.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,375,563 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.96, for a total value of $182,823,328.48. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 619,646,544 shares of the company's stock, valued at $47,687,998,026.24. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,337,337 shares of company stock valued at $958,823,647 in the last three months. Insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. CAP Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. CAP Partners LLC now owns 6,054 shares of the retailer's stock worth $489,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Investment Advisory Group LLC raised 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 worth $499,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Jag Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 9,413 shares of the retailer's stock worth $760,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the period. Professional Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Professional Financial Advisors LLC now owns 21,839 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,763,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the period. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 6,677 shares of the retailer's stock worth $539,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Walmart Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The company has a market cap of $683.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.28, a PEG ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.51. The business's fifty day moving average is $80.67 and its 200 day moving average is $72.27.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 21.72%. The business had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $168.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.61 EPS. Walmart's revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current year.

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.