StockNews.com Downgrades Walmart (NYSE:WMT) to Buy

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

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays increased their price objective on Walmart from $66.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Walmart from $88.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Guggenheim raised their price target on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $91.88.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT opened at $90.44 on Wednesday. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $82.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.84. The firm has a market cap of $726.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.07, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.51. Walmart has a 1 year low of $49.85 and a 1 year high of $90.91.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total transaction of $246,360.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 378,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,054,909.80. This trade represents a 0.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.96, for a total value of $1,088,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 593,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,198,598.40. This trade represents a 2.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock valued at $958,823,647. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 181.0% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 56,861,234 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,421,342,000 after acquiring an additional 36,625,314 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 479.6% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 18,479,259 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,492,200,000 after purchasing an additional 15,290,936 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 284.0% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 11,122,273 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $669,227,000 after purchasing an additional 8,225,552 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,098,203,000 after purchasing an additional 7,200,004 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 8,814.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 6,963,218 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $562,280,000 after purchasing an additional 6,885,106 shares during the period. 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.