Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Price Target Raised to $73.00 at The Goldman Sachs Group

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) had its target price increased by The Goldman Sachs Group from $64.33 to $73.00 in a research report released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the retailer’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Walmart from $54.33 to $58.67 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Walmart to $66.67 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Walmart from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their target price on Walmart to $67.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $67.59.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMT traded up $0.64 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $64.65. The company had a trading volume of 29,330,381 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,575,826. Walmart has a 52-week low of $48.34 and a 52-week high of $64.88. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $60.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $56.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market cap of $520.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.68, a P/E/G ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.49.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.08. Walmart had a net margin of 2.88% and a return on equity of 21.57%. The firm had revenue of $161.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $159.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.49 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart will post 2.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.2075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.28%. Walmart’s payout ratio is currently 35.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.93, for a total transaction of $1,687,250.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 4,076,892 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $236,187,943.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 10,950 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.33, for a total value of $638,750.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 104,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,086,850. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.93, for a total transaction of $1,687,250.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,076,892 shares in the company, valued at $236,187,943.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,019,140 shares of company stock valued at $1,696,045,631 over the last three months. 46.51% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Walmart during the third quarter valued at $25,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Northwest Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Walmart by 199.3% in the 1st quarter. Northwest Capital Management Inc now owns 440 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. Partnership Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Able Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

About Walmart

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.