Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price Up 1.9% Following Analyst Upgrade

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s stock price shot up 1.9% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Tigress Financial raised their price target on the stock from $125.00 to $130.00. Tigress Financial currently has a buy rating on the stock. Walmart traded as high as $114.89 and last traded at $114.4990. 24,394,206 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 31% from the average session volume of 18,555,662 shares. The stock had previously closed at $112.41.

WMT has been the topic of a number of other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $128.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 21st. DA Davidson set a $130.00 price target on shares of Walmart and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 21st. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $125.00 price objective (up from $120.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $122.00 target price (up previously from $118.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Thirty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $119.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.83, for a total transaction of $415,320.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 1,048,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $108,861,082.65. This represents a 0.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.78, for a total transaction of $1,414,612.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 892,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $96,241,073.20. This represents a 1.45% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 158,013 shares of company stock valued at $16,657,847 over the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in Walmart in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Access Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP acquired a new stake in Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Operose Advisors LLC raised its position in Walmart by 319.7% during the first quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 319 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Trading Up 1.9%

The company has a market cap of $912.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.03, a PEG ratio of 5.16 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $104.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $100.61.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 20th. The retailer reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 3.26% and a return on equity of 21.31%. The business had revenue of $179.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $175.15 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.58 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Walmart has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.580-2.630 EPS. Research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.