Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Shares Down 0.2% Following Analyst Downgrade

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) traded down 0.2% during trading on Wednesday after Evercore ISI lowered their price target on the stock from $67.00 to $66.00. Evercore ISI currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Walmart traded as low as $59.78 and last traded at $59.84. 14,726,259 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 15% from the average session volume of 12,761,192 shares. The stock had previously closed at $59.93.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on WMT. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Walmart to $66.67 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Walmart from $62.00 to $63.33 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Stifel Europe lifted their target price on Walmart from $56.33 to $58.33 in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their target price on Walmart to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.54.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 10,950 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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 this link. In other Walmart news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 10,950 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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 this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.26, for a total value of $180,780.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 524,613 shares in the company, valued at $31,613,179.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,032,265 shares of company stock valued at $1,696,559,224 over the last ninety days. 46.51% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Seven Mile Advisory grew its position in Walmart by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Seven Mile Advisory now owns 3,953 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $632,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC grew its position in Walmart by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC now owns 1,636 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $258,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Walmart by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,451 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,436,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Avaii Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Walmart by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Avaii Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,908 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $305,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bill Few Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in Walmart by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. now owns 5,806 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $915,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Down 0.2 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $59.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.41. The firm has a market cap of $482.19 billion, a PE ratio of 31.33, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.49.

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

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Walmart’s payout ratio is presently 43.46%.

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.