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

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s share price was down 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. Approximately 8,658,189 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 48% from the average daily volume of 16,634,721 shares. The stock had previously closed at $94.78.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Barclays lifted their target price on Walmart from $98.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com cut Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. DZ Bank cut Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $91.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.43.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total transaction of $166,384.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at $44,049,852.03. This represents a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz acquired 5,446 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $91.81 per share, for a total transaction of $499,997.26. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 7,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $716,577.05. This represents a 230.86 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 176,777 shares of company stock worth $16,570,112 over the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 1,007.7% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the period. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $746.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.46, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $95.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $86.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. 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 34.44%.

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.