Walmart (NYSE:WMT) price target raised to USD 81.00 at UBS Group

Walmart (NYSE:WMT – Get Free Report) The price target was raised by equity analysts at UBS Group from $74.00 to $81.00 in a research report published on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently rates the retailer’s stock as a “buy.” UBS Group’s price target suggests a potential upside of 10.28% from the company’s last closing price.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on WMT. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Walmart from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Walmart from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Walmart from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Roth Mkm raised their price target on Walmart from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17. Three equities analysts have rated the stock with a “hold” rating, 26 have assigned a “buy” rating and one has given the stock a “strong buy” rating. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “moderate buy” and a consensus price target of $77.79.

Read our latest research report on Walmart

Walmart shares rise 0.7%

WMT opened at $73.45 on Friday. Walmart has a 1-year low of $49.85 and a 1-year high of $74.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market cap of $590.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.39, a PEG ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a 50-day moving average of $68.86 and a 200-day moving average of $63.37.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15. The retailer reported earnings per share of $0.67 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.57% and a net margin of 2.88%. The company had revenue of $169.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst expectations of $168.56 billion. During the same period last year, the company generated earnings per share of $0.61. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter increased 4.7% compared to the year-ago quarter. Overall, sell-side analysts expect Walmart to report earnings per share of $2.43 for the current year.

Insider buying and selling

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,398 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total value of $166,661.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 463,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,239,034.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC’s website. In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.61, for a total transaction of $2,056,445.64. Following the transaction, the CEO now owns 3,931,301 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $277,589,163.61. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,398 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total value of $166,661.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 463,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,239,034.50. The disclosure regarding this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,000,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $725,932,010 in the last three months. 45.58% of the shares are currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge funds comment on Walmart

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their holdings of the stock. Traction Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in Walmart during the second quarter valued at about $208,000. Regal Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 5.7% in the second quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 84,178 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,700,000 after buying an additional 4,564 shares in the last quarter. Invst LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 8.2% in the second quarter. Invst LLC now owns 41,525 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,802,000 after buying an additional 3,132 shares in the last quarter. Second Line Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 4.5% in the second quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 43,836 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,968,000 after purchasing an additional 1,896 shares in the last quarter. Finally, William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Walmart shares in the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,812,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Company Profile

(Get free report)

Walmart Inc. operates retail, wholesale, other business and e-commerce businesses worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Walmart US, Walmart International and Sam’s Club. It operates supercenters, supermarkets, hypermarkets, warehouse clubs, cash-and-carry stores and discount stores under the Walmart and Walmart Neighborhood Market brands; members-only warehouse clubs; e-commerce websites such as walmart.com.mx, walmart.ca, flipkart.com, PhonePe and other websites; and mobile commerce applications.