Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Now Covered by Melius Research

Stock analysts at Melius Research began coverage on shares of Walmart (NYSE:WMT) in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $95.00 price target on the retailer’s stock. Melius Research’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 17.72% from the stock’s current price.

WMT has been the subject of several other reports. Roth Mkm upped their target price on Walmart from $71.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $83.00 target price (up from $81.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, August 16th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Walmart from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Walmart from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $80.19.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE WMT opened at $80.70 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $649.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.49, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.51. 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $73.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $67.16. Walmart has a fifty-two week low of $49.85 and a fifty-two week high of $81.02.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 EPS 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 the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.61 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Walmart will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,063 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.76, for a total value of $166,607.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 459,558 shares in the company, valued at $37,113,904.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,063 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.76, for a total transaction of $166,607.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 459,558 shares in the company, valued at $37,113,904.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,398 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total value of $166,661.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 463,871 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,239,034.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,360,248 shares of company stock worth $959,228,295 over the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 6.5% during the second quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 85,145 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,765,000 after acquiring an additional 5,194 shares during the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. increased its stake in Walmart by 24.2% during the second quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. now owns 110,054 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,452,000 after acquiring an additional 21,478 shares during the last quarter. Verity & Verity LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 46.6% during the second quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 15,205 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,030,000 after acquiring an additional 4,835 shares during the last quarter. American Trust increased its stake in Walmart by 2.4% during the second quarter. American Trust now owns 10,833 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $734,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 36.0% in the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 15,140 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,025,000 after buying an additional 4,008 shares in the last quarter. 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.