Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) had its target price boosted by Morgan Stanley from $82.00 to $89.00 in a report published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the retailer’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on WMT. UBS Group increased their price target on Walmart from $81.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Walmart from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Truist Financial raised shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $76.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.15.

Walmart Stock Performance

Walmart stock opened at $85.01 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.22. Walmart has a 12 month low of $49.85 and a 12 month high of $85.54. The company has a market cap of $683.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.51. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $80.67 and its 200-day moving average is $72.27.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 21.72%. The firm had revenue of $169.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $168.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.61 earnings per share. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Walmart will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,375,563 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.96, for a total transaction of $182,823,328.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 619,646,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,687,998,026.24. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total transaction of $246,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 378,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,054,909.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,375,563 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.96, for a total transaction of $182,823,328.48. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 619,646,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,687,998,026.24. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock valued at $958,823,647 over the last quarter. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Walmart by 199.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 411,745,334 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $24,774,717,000 after buying an additional 274,229,968 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Walmart by 181.0% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 56,861,234 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,421,342,000 after acquiring an additional 36,625,314 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 479.6% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 18,479,259 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,492,200,000 after acquiring an additional 15,290,936 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 284.0% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 11,122,273 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $669,227,000 after purchasing an additional 8,225,552 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 8,814.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 6,963,218 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $562,280,000 after purchasing an additional 6,885,106 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.