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

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s stock price was 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. Approximately 14,726,259 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 15% from the average daily volume of 12,761,192 shares. The stock had previously closed at $59.93.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on WMT. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Walmart from $62.00 to $63.33 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on Walmart from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $68.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Walmart to $66.67 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.54.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.26, for a total transaction of $180,780.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 524,613 shares in the company, valued at $31,613,179.38. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Walmart 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 transaction of $638,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 104,346 shares in the company, valued at $6,086,850. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.26, for a total value of $180,780.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 524,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,613,179.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,032,265 shares of company stock worth $1,696,559,224 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 46.51% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Kozak & Associates Inc. boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 1,490.0% in the 3rd quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 159 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Northwest Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Walmart by 199.3% during the 1st quarter. Northwest Capital Management Inc now owns 440 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 293 shares during the period. Partnership Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Able Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Down 0.2 %

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $55.41. 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 company has a market cap of $482.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.33, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.49.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.05. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.08% and a net margin of 2.39%. The company had revenue of $173.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $170.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.57 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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 paid a dividend of $0.2075 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.39%. Walmart’s payout ratio is currently 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.