KeyCorp Raises Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Price Target to $88.00

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) had its price target upped by stock analysts at KeyCorp from $87.00 to $88.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the retailer’s stock. KeyCorp’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 4.80% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Melius Research assumed coverage on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $95.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Walmart has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $83.92.

Walmart Stock Performance

WMT stock traded up $0.53 during trading on Thursday, reaching $83.97. 5,437,310 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,755,377. The firm has a market cap of $674.97 billion, a PE ratio of 43.84, a P/E/G ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Walmart has a 1-year low of $49.85 and a 1-year high of $85.54. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $80.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $71.67.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 21.72%. The company had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $168.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.61 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Walmart will post 2.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,063 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.76, for a total transaction of $166,607.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 459,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,113,904.08. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.64, for a total value of $2,348,559.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,873,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $312,322,993.92. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,063 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.76, for a total transaction of $166,607.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 459,558 shares in the company, valued at $37,113,904.08. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock worth $958,823,647 in the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Walmart by 199.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 411,745,334 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $24,774,717,000 after purchasing an additional 274,229,968 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 181.0% in the first 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 buying an additional 36,625,314 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in Walmart by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 36,282,740 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,456,704,000 after buying an additional 644,353 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in Walmart by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 16,766,325 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,353,881,000 after buying an additional 484,196 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Walmart by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 16,184,945 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,095,946,000 after acquiring an additional 834,005 shares during the last quarter. 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.