Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Downgraded to “Buy” Rating by StockNews.com

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on WMT. Roth Mkm boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their target price on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $91.51.

Walmart Price Performance

NYSE WMT traded up $0.58 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $87.18. 17,348,499 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,843,436. The company has a market capitalization of $700.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.19 and a beta of 0.51. Walmart has a 12-month low of $49.85 and a 12-month high of $88.29. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $81.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.72% and a net margin of 2.34%. The business had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.51 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Walmart will post 2.44 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,375,563 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.96, for a total transaction of $182,823,328.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 619,646,544 shares in the company, valued at $47,687,998,026.24. The trade was a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.64, for a total value of $2,348,559.36. Following the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,337,337 shares of company stock valued at $958,823,647 over the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in Walmart during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 138.3% in the second quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 429 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the period. Cultivar Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 253.0% during the first quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC now owns 526 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.