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

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

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $95.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Two investment 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. According to MarketBeat, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.49.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $88.32 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Walmart has a 12 month low of $49.85 and a 12 month high of $88.64. The company has a market cap of $709.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.25, a P/E/G ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.51. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $81.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $73.54.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The firm had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.51 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Walmart will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $312,322,993.92. This represents a 0.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 directly owns 619,646,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,687,998,026.24. This represents a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock worth $958,823,647. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WMT. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 88,188 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,121,000 after purchasing an additional 3,043 shares during the last quarter. Tudor Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth about $504,000. Aldebaran Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Walmart by 10.9% in the third quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. now owns 22,250 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,797,000 after buying an additional 2,191 shares during the period. Tri Ri Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in Walmart during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,450,000. Finally, SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. increased its position in shares of Walmart by 4.2% in the third quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 9,052 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $731,000 after acquiring an additional 364 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.