Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading Down 2.1% on Analyst Downgrade

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) shares were down 2.1% during trading on Wednesday after Evercore ISI lowered their price target on the stock from $107.00 to $100.00. Evercore ISI currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Walmart traded as low as $86.31 and last traded at $85.61. Approximately 6,293,141 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 60% from the average daily volume of 15,759,048 shares. The stock had previously closed at $87.44.

WMT has been the topic of several other reports. Bank of America increased their target price on Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 28th. Tigress Financial increased their price target on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total value of $1,215,375.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 566,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,485,124.40. This trade represents a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total transaction of $3,754,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 257,281 shares in the company, valued at $25,419,362.80. This represents a 12.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 185,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,657,316. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1,007.7% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the period. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $683.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.30, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $95.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $88.59. 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 announced 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. The company had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors 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 1.10%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

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.