Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Rating Increased to Buy at Erste Group Bank

Key Points

• Walmart's rating has been upgraded from a "hold" to a "buy" by Erste Group Bank, reflecting increased confidence in the company's stock performance.
• Multiple analysts have set target price increases for Walmart, with Oppenheimer raising theirs to $110.00 and Mizuho targeting $115.00.
• Walmart reported earnings of $0.61 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing analyst expectations and achieving a revenue of $165.61 billion.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Erste Group Bank from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Raymond James Financial dropped their target price on Walmart from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. KeyCorp increased their target price on Walmart from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Mizuho increased their target price on Walmart from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on Walmart from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Walmart presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $106.67.

Walmart Stock Up 0.5%

NYSE:WMT opened at $100.07 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock's fifty day moving average is $96.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $95.13. Walmart has a 52 week low of $66.67 and a 52 week high of $105.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $798.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.74 and a beta of 0.66.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $164.53 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.76% and a net margin of 2.75%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Walmart will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.85, for a total transaction of $1,258,031.25. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 945,434 shares in the company, valued at approximately $90,619,848.90. The trade was a 1.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 28,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.00, for a total transaction of $2,716,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 1,064,455 shares in the company, valued at $103,252,135. The trade was a 2.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 146,112 shares of company stock valued at $14,080,073. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Welch & Forbes LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 526,490 shares of the retailer's stock worth $51,480,000 after buying an additional 6,127 shares in the last quarter. Accuvest Global Advisors lifted its holdings in Walmart by 15.3% in the 2nd quarter. Accuvest Global Advisors now owns 53,335 shares of the retailer's stock worth $5,215,000 after buying an additional 7,063 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. lifted its holdings in Walmart by 12.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 139,427 shares of the retailer's stock worth $13,633,000 after buying an additional 14,968 shares in the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd lifted its holdings in Walmart by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 100,343 shares of the retailer's stock worth $9,776,000 after buying an additional 3,165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beam Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Walmart by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Beam Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 26,008 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,543,000 after buying an additional 486 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.

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