BMO Capital Markets Lowers Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Price Target to $175.00

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) had its price objective lowered by investment analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $180.00 to $175.00 in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the retailer’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price target indicates a potential upside of 12.65% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Citigroup raised their price target on Walmart from $174.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Walmart from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 18th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Walmart from $170.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Walmart from $169.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 13th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on Walmart from $166.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.00.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT opened at $155.35 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $162.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $157.82. Walmart has a 1 year low of $136.09 and a 1 year high of $169.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $418.13 billion, a PE ratio of 25.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.53.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 16th. The retailer reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.53. The business had revenue of $160.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $159.65 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.20% and a net margin of 2.55%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.50 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Walmart will post 6.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 9,708 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.40, for a total transaction of $1,576,579.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,461,509 shares in the company, valued at $237,349,061.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 9,708 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.40, for a total transaction of $1,576,579.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,461,509 shares in the company, valued at $237,349,061.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.37, for a total value of $161,370.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 169,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,390,136.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 31,166 shares of company stock worth $5,066,701. 46.51% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its stake in Walmart by 93,272.8% during the second quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 821,003,685 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $129,045,359,000 after buying an additional 820,124,410 shares during the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 112,181.6% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 22,854,919 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,240,599,000 after purchasing an additional 22,834,564 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at $2,598,736,000. Providence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1,164,937.0% in the 1st quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,718,400 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000,000 after purchasing an additional 4,717,995 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 7,546.2% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,166,995 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $467,747,000 after purchasing an additional 3,125,576 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.18% of the company’s stock.

About Walmart

Walmart Inc engages in the operation of retail, wholesale, and other units 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, walmart.com.mx, walmart.ca, flipkart.com, and samsclub.com; and mobile commerce applications.