Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Shares Down 2.5% on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) fell 2.5% on Monday after Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on the stock from $109.00 to $107.00. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Walmart traded as low as $92.38 and last traded at $92.42. 8,658,189 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 48% from the average session volume of 16,634,721 shares. The stock had previously closed at $94.78.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on WMT. Citigroup raised their price target on Walmart from $98.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 price target (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 target price (up previously from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $102.43.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 5,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.45, for a total value of $512,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 87,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,993,095.80. This trade represents a 6.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.44, for a total value of $2,663,098.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,814,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $348,825,769.20. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 176,777 shares of company stock valued at $16,570,112 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brophy Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Walmart during the third quarter worth $2,072,000. Bank of New Hampshire increased its position in Walmart by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 47,949 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,332,000 after buying an additional 5,786 shares in the last quarter. Iowa State Bank increased its position in Walmart by 213.8% during the fourth quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 26,807 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,422,000 after buying an additional 18,263 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in Walmart by 4.6% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,848,533,000 after buying an additional 2,107,197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in Walmart during the third quarter worth $541,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Down 2.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $95.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $86.71. The company has a market cap of $746.29 billion, a PE ratio of 38.46, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.44%.

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.