Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Given New $110.00 Price Target at Oppenheimer

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) had its target price increased by research analysts at Oppenheimer from $100.00 to $110.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "outperform" rating on the retailer's stock. Oppenheimer's target price indicates a potential upside of 11.18% from the company's previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $115.00 price target (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. DZ Bank upgraded Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $110.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Mizuho started coverage on Walmart in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $105.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $103.94.

Walmart Price Performance

Walmart stock traded up $0.39 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $98.94. The company had a trading volume of 1,450,774 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,763,704. Walmart has a 12-month low of $59.44 and a 12-month high of $105.30. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $90.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $91.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The company has a market capitalization of $791.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.08, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.70.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $178.83 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Walmart will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total value of $166,384.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 423,597 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. This represents a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.95, for a total value of $2,823,571.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,558,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $344,972,046.65. This represents a 0.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 133,857 shares of company stock valued at $12,444,743. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Walmart by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 422,736,888 shares of the retailer's stock worth $38,194,278,000 after buying an additional 2,050,683 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 90,635,238 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,167,186,000 after purchasing an additional 3,017,829 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $5,737,355,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 48,793,045 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,408,452,000 after purchasing an additional 1,133,201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Walmart by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,943,049,000 after purchasing an additional 3,550,037 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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