UBS Group Lowers Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Price Target to $112.00

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) had its target price trimmed by UBS Group from $113.00 to $112.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the retailer’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Tigress Financial increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.43.

Walmart Stock Down 2.6 %

WMT stock opened at $94.70 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $95.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $86.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.85. Walmart has a fifty-two week low of $57.77 and a fifty-two week high of $105.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $760.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.86, a PEG ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total value of $166,384.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 423,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. This trade represents a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total value of $3,754,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 257,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,419,362.80. This trade represents a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 176,777 shares of company stock valued at $16,570,112. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Swedbank AB raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,345,293 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $431,632,000 after buying an additional 18,644 shares during the last quarter. X Square Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. X Square Capital LLC now owns 34,460 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,783,000 after buying an additional 1,032 shares during the last quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth $1,082,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 101,000 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,156,000 after buying an additional 10,006 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,430 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,811,000 after buying an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. 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.