Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Cut to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Walmart (NYSE:WMT) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Wednesday morning.

Several other brokerages have also commented on WMT. Bank of America upped their target price on Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $66.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Walmart from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.88.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $90.44 on Wednesday. Walmart has a one year low of $49.85 and a one year high of $90.91. The company has a market cap of $726.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.11, a PEG ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $82.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $73.75.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.51 EPS. Research analysts predict that Walmart will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total transaction of $313,228,886.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 611,988,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,245,498,149.60. This represents a 0.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.64, for a total value of $2,348,559.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,873,053 shares in the company, valued at $312,322,993.92. This trade represents a 0.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock valued at $958,823,647 over the last three months. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 23,720 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,915,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 43,549 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,591,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 0.4% in the third quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC now owns 32,633 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,635,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. CAP Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. CAP Partners LLC now owns 6,054 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $489,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Investment Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Investment Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,182 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $499,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

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.