Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading 0.3% Higher on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) were up 0.3% during trading on Monday after Tigress Financial raised their price target on the stock from $86.00 to $115.00. Tigress Financial currently has a buy rating on the stock. Walmart traded as high as $94.92 and last traded at $94.52. Approximately 2,790,983 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 16,836,646 shares. The stock had previously closed at $94.25.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on WMT. Citigroup upped their price objective on Walmart from $75.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Walmart from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $93.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 1,804,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.18, for a total transaction of $142,840,720.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 605,979,318 shares of the company's stock, valued at $47,981,442,399.24. This represents a 0.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.64, for a total transaction of $2,348,559.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,873,053 shares of the company's stock, valued at $312,322,993.92. This trade represents a 0.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 2,307,028 shares of company stock valued at $183,208,931. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Zhang Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 6.2% during the second quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 10,071 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $682,000 after acquiring an additional 592 shares during the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. raised its position in shares of Walmart by 21.6% in the second quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 13,708 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $930,000 after buying an additional 2,434 shares during the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 59.5% during the second quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 9,698 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $687,000 after buying an additional 3,618 shares during the period. Focus Financial Network Inc. boosted its position in Walmart by 5.7% during the second quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 34,421 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,445,000 after acquiring an additional 1,868 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GFG Capital LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. GFG Capital LLC now owns 37,848 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,563,000 after acquiring an additional 1,165 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $762.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.94, a P/E/G ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $86.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $77.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.51 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current year.

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.