UBS Group Raises Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Price Target to $69.00

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) had its target price boosted by UBS Group from $63.00 to $69.00 in a research report released on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the retailer’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $62.00 to $63.33 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Walmart from $67.00 to $66.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $68.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a hold rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of Walmart to $67.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $61.94.

Walmart Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE WMT opened at $60.45 on Tuesday. Walmart has a one year low of $48.34 and a one year high of $61.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $60.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $56.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $487.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.59, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.49.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.05. Walmart had a net margin of 2.39% and a return on equity of 21.08%. The company had revenue of $173.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $170.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.57 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Walmart will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.2075 dividend. This represents a $0.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Walmart’s payout ratio is 43.38%.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 345,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.93, for a total value of $21,020,850.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 652,044,261 shares in the company, valued at $39,729,056,822.73. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director S Robson Walton sold 14,685,327 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.61, for a total value of $860,755,966.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 656,397,261 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,473,631,458.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 345,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.93, for a total value of $21,020,850.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 652,044,261 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,729,056,822.73. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 29,019,140 shares of company stock valued at $1,696,045,631 in the last three months. Company insiders own 46.51% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,674,652,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Walmart by 183.0% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 29,172,985 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,755,339,000 after purchasing an additional 18,865,484 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in shares of Walmart by 212.6% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 14,035,473 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $844,514,000 after purchasing an additional 9,544,958 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 187.4% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 13,303,200 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $800,454,000 after purchasing an additional 8,674,100 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of Walmart by 184.1% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 12,567,533 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $756,188,000 after buying an additional 8,144,393 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.