Barclays Raises Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Price Target to $108.00

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) had its price objective hoisted by Barclays from $98.00 to $108.00 in a research report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the retailer’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on WMT. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 price target (up from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup lifted their price target on Walmart from $98.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Walmart from $83.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $99.17.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT stock opened at $104.04 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $835.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.55. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $94.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $85.09. Walmart has a 52-week low of $55.99 and a 52-week high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued 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 business had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.51 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Walmart will post 2.48 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total transaction of $3,754,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 257,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,419,362.80. The trade was a 12.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz bought 5,446 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $91.81 per share, for a total transaction of $499,997.26. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 7,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $716,577.05. This represents a 230.86 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 175,177 shares of company stock valued at $16,403,728. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,737,355,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,306,627,000. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 479.6% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 18,479,259 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,492,200,000 after buying an additional 15,290,936 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 12.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,098,203,000 after buying an additional 7,200,004 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 8,814.4% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 6,963,218 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $562,280,000 after buying an additional 6,885,106 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.