Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Price Target to $102.00

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) had its target price reduced by Royal Bank of Canada from $107.00 to $102.00 in a report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the retailer’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Tigress Financial upped their price target on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.58.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $92.81 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $92.43 and a 200-day moving average of $89.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82. Walmart has a twelve month low of $58.56 and a twelve month high of $105.30. The firm has a market cap of $744.03 billion, a PE ratio of 38.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that Walmart will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.00%.

Insider Activity

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total value of $3,754,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 257,281 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,419,362.80. The trade was a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total transaction of $343,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 888,309 shares in the company, valued at $76,350,158.55. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 178,852 shares of company stock worth $16,785,080 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $5,737,355,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $2,306,627,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 9,896.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,939,728 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $697,029,000 after purchasing an additional 7,860,306 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 37.1% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 25,339,448 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,289,419,000 after purchasing an additional 6,860,189 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 3,927,173 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.