Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Receives “Outperform” Rating from Royal Bank of Canada

Walmart (NYSE:WMT)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating restated by research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $105.00 price target on the retailer’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 15.23% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on the company. Tigress Financial upped their target price on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.49.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT stock traded up $0.33 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $91.12. 1,613,099 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,899,665. The company has a market cap of $732.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart has a 1 year low of $53.44 and a 1 year high of $96.18. The company’s 50 day moving average is $90.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $80.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.51 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz bought 5,446 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $91.81 per share, for a total transaction of $499,997.26. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 7,805 shares in the company, valued at $716,577.05. This represents a 230.86 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.79, for a total value of $2,411,175.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,843,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $318,238,881.91. This represents a 0.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 138,347 shares of company stock worth $12,311,491. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 479.6% in the third 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 in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,098,203,000 after purchasing an additional 7,200,004 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 8,814.4% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 6,963,218 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $562,280,000 after buying an additional 6,885,106 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,048,465,000 after buying an additional 2,786,061 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 4.6% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,848,533,000 after buying an additional 2,107,197 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.