StockNews.com upgrades Walmart (NYSE:WMT) to Strong Buy

Walmart (NYSE:WMT – Get Free Report) was upgraded by equity analysts at StockNews.com from “Buy” to “Strong Buy” in a research report released on Friday.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on WMT. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Citigroup raised their price target on Walmart from $63.33 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Walmart from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12. Robert W. Baird raised his price target on shares of Walmart from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price target on Walmart shares from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Three equities analysts have rated the stock with a “hold,” 26 have issued a “buy” recommendation, and one has given the stock a “strong buy” recommendation. Walmart currently has an average rating of “moderate buy” and an average price target of $77.79, according to MarketBeat.

Read our latest report on Walmart

Walmart shares rise 0.7%

WMT opened at $73.45 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $590.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.23. Walmart has a 52-week low of $49.85 and a 52-week high of $74.44. The company has a 50-day moving average of $68.86 and a 200-day moving average of $63.37.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15. The retailer reported earnings per share of $0.67 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $169.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $168.56 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.88% and a return on equity of 21.57%. The company’s revenue for the quarter grew 4.7% year-over-year. In the same quarter last year, the company generated earnings per share of $0.61. Equities analysts forecast that Walmart will report earnings per share of $2.43 for the current fiscal year.

Insider buying and selling

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock on Thursday, August 1. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.19, for a total transaction of $207,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 387,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,787,946.35. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of Walmart stock on Thursday, August 1. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.19, for a total transaction of $207,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 387,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,787,946.35. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available on the SEC’s website. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.82, for a total transaction of $1,944,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 144,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,386,389.74. The disclosure regarding this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,000,613 shares of the company’s stock during the last quarter, valued at $725,932,010. 45.58% of the company’s stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge funds comment on Walmart

Major investors have recently changed their holdings in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 199.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 411,745,334 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $24,774,717,000 after buying an additional 274,229,968 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 181.0% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 56,861,234 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,421,342,000 after buying an additional 36,625,314 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at $3,674,652,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 183.0% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 29,172,985 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,755,339,000 after purchasing an additional 18,865,484 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 212.6% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 14,035,473 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $844,514,000 after purchasing an additional 9,544,958 shares during the same period. 26.76% of the shares are currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Company Profile

(Get free report)

Walmart Inc. operates retail, wholesale, other business and e-commerce businesses worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Walmart US, Walmart International and Sam’s Club. It operates supercenters, supermarkets, hypermarkets, warehouse clubs, cash-and-carry stores and discount stores under the Walmart and Walmart Neighborhood Market brands; members-only warehouse clubs; e-commerce websites such as walmart.com.mx, walmart.ca, flipkart.com, PhonePe and other websites; and mobile commerce applications.

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