Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading Down 0.2% on Analyst Downgrade

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) was down 0.2% during trading on Wednesday after Evercore ISI lowered their price target on the stock from $67.00 to $66.00. Evercore ISI currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Walmart traded as low as $59.78 and last traded at $59.84. Approximately 14,726,259 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 15% from the average daily volume of 12,761,192 shares. The stock had previously closed at $59.93.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $62.00 to $63.33 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Stifel Europe raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $56.33 to $58.33 in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $54.33 to $58.67 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 19th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $68.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $61.54.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.26, for a total transaction of $180,780.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 524,613 shares in the company, valued at $31,613,179.38. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.26, for a total value of $180,780.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 524,613 shares of the company's stock, valued at $31,613,179.38. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.45, for a total value of $1,760,545.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,047,767 shares in the company, valued at $244,687,515.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 29,032,265 shares of company stock worth $1,696,559,224. 46.51% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AMI Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.6% during the first quarter. AMI Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,269 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,231,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 36.8% during the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 4,820 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $718,000 after acquiring an additional 1,296 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 31.7% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,162 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $173,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. Ergoteles LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 123.9% in the first quarter. Ergoteles LLC now owns 10,566 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,573,000 after purchasing an additional 5,847 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in Walmart by 1.7% in the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 857,839 shares of the retailer's stock worth $127,749,000 after purchasing an additional 13,985 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Down 0.3 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $480.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.33, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.49. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $59.39 and a 200 day moving average of $55.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $173.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $170.85 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.08% and a net margin of 2.39%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.57 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.2075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.39%. Walmart's payout ratio is currently 43.46%.

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.