Guggenheim Issues Positive Forecast for Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) had its price target hoisted by equities researchers at Guggenheim from $90.00 to $100.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the retailer’s stock. Guggenheim’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 15.90% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Walmart from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Walmart from $83.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Citigroup upped their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, DA Davidson increased their target price on Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $88.41.

Walmart Stock Down 0.4 %

Walmart stock traded down $0.32 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $86.28. 4,933,060 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,784,646. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.80. Walmart has a 12 month low of $49.85 and a 12 month high of $88.29. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $81.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.34. The company has a market cap of $693.54 billion, a PE ratio of 44.86, a P/E/G ratio of 4.19 and a beta of 0.51.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 21.72%. The firm had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.51 EPS. Walmart’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Walmart will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total transaction of $313,228,886.80. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 611,988,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,245,498,149.60. This trade represents a 0.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 ninety days. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Oxbow Advisors LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 45.0% in the 3rd quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 28,453 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,298,000 after acquiring an additional 8,834 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its stake in Walmart by 21.9% in the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 587,001 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $47,400,000 after acquiring an additional 105,430 shares during the period. Whalerock Point Partners LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 213.5% in the 1st quarter. Whalerock Point Partners LLC now owns 29,613 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,782,000 after acquiring an additional 20,167 shares during the period. WFA Asset Management Corp grew its stake in Walmart by 201.0% in the 1st quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 2,092 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $126,000 after acquiring an additional 1,397 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 14.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,235,504 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $503,517,000 after purchasing an additional 809,352 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.