Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Piper Sandler Analyst Says

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) had its target price lifted by equities research analysts at Piper Sandler from $83.00 to $93.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the retailer’s stock. Piper Sandler’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 11.04% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Walmart from $82.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Walmart from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Melius Research started coverage on Walmart in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Walmart from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.18.

Walmart Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE WMT traded down $0.50 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $83.75. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,887,044 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,672,109. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market cap of $673.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.54, a P/E/G ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.51. Walmart has a 12 month low of $49.85 and a 12 month high of $85.79. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $81.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.98.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $169.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $168.56 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.72% and a net margin of 2.34%. Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.61 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Walmart will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,375,563 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.48, for a total transaction of $232,440.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 384,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,765,104.20. This represents a 0.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock worth $958,823,647. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 23,720 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,915,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 0.3% during the 3rd 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 3rd quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC now owns 32,633 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,635,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the period. CAP Partners LLC grew 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 valued at $489,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Investment Advisory Group LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 2.1% during 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. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.