Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Erste Group Bank

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) was downgraded by stock analysts at Erste Group Bank from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.20.

Walmart Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $85.53 on Monday. Walmart has a 12 month low of $58.56 and a 12 month high of $105.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $95.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $88.93. The firm has a market cap of $687.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.49, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that Walmart will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total value of $166,658.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,956,404.35. The trade was a 0.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total transaction of $1,215,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 566,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,485,124.40. The trade was a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 185,777 shares of company stock worth $17,657,316. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,737,355,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,306,627,000. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in Walmart by 479.6% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 18,479,259 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,492,200,000 after purchasing an additional 15,290,936 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 7,200,004 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Walmart by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,020,800 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,893,079,000 after acquiring an additional 3,927,173 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.