Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Downgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Walmart (NYSE:WMT) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $67.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. DA Davidson increased their target price on Walmart from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price target on Walmart from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $71.60.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT stock opened at $69.18 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $68.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $556.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.61, a PEG ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.50. Walmart has a 12-month low of $49.85 and a 12-month high of $71.33.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $161.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $159.57 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.57% and a net margin of 2.88%. Walmart’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.49 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Walmart will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director S Robson Walton sold 3,540,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.55, for a total transaction of $228,523,137.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 648,504,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,860,933,910.05. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.82, for a total transaction of $1,944,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 144,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,386,389.74. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director S Robson Walton sold 3,540,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.55, for a total value of $228,523,137.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 648,504,011 shares in the company, valued at $41,860,933,910.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 14,537,863 shares of company stock valued at $954,247,577. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Matisse Capital increased its holdings in Walmart by 8.1% in the 2nd quarter. Matisse Capital now owns 12,017 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $814,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Foster Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 5.1% in the second quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 16,197 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,097,000 after purchasing an additional 788 shares in the last quarter. Fonville Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 2nd quarter valued at $226,000. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 338,336 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $22,909,000 after buying an additional 2,803 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sage Rhino Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC now owns 5,893 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $399,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

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.