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

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) had its price target upped 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.

WMT has been the topic of several other reports. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. KeyCorp increased their target price on Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price target on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $100.53.

Walmart Stock Down 1.0 %

WMT traded down $1.01 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $104.04. 14,096,845 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,084,413. Walmart has a fifty-two week low of $55.99 and a fifty-two week high of $105.30. The company has a market cap of $835.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.70, a PEG ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $94.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $85.56.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The company's revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.51 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Walmart will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total transaction of $3,754,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 257,281 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,419,362.80. This represents a 12.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP David Chojnowski sold 5,600 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.45, for a total transaction of $512,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 87,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,993,095.80. This trade represents a 6.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 175,177 shares of company stock worth $16,403,728 over the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of WMT. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,937 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $538,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC now owns 3,431 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Walmart by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 10,232 shares of the retailer's stock worth $924,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 15,685 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,417,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van Strum & Towne Inc. lifted its position in Walmart by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Van Strum & Towne Inc. now owns 6,849 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $619,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by 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.