Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-three ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, thirty have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $103.58.

Several research firms have weighed in on WMT. Citigroup reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Erste Group Bank downgraded Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Raymond James lowered their price target on Walmart from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total transaction of $166,384.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 423,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. This trade represents a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.66, for a total transaction of $195,052.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 398,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,288,807.84. This trade represents a 0.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 178,852 shares of company stock valued at $16,785,080. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 14.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,235,504 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $503,517,000 after acquiring an additional 809,352 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the third quarter worth $43,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 25.4% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,539,869 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $205,094,000 after buying an additional 514,262 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 18.5% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 416,208 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $33,609,000 after buying an additional 64,995 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EWA LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. EWA LLC now owns 8,306 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $702,000 after buying an additional 429 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $94.91 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market cap of $760.88 billion, a PE ratio of 39.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $92.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $90.06.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate 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 issued a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.99%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.00%.

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.