Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Lowered to “Buy” Rating by StockNews.com

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

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on Walmart from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Melius Research assumed coverage on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Walmart from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price objective on Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Two equities research 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.49.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $88.32 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.85. Walmart has a 1 year low of $49.85 and a 1 year high of $88.64. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $81.92 and a 200-day moving average of $73.54. The company has a market cap of $709.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.51.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.51 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Walmart will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total value of $246,360.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 378,165 shares in the company, valued at $31,054,909.80. This represents a 0.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total value of $313,228,886.80. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 611,988,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,245,498,149.60. This represents a 0.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,337,337 shares of company stock worth $958,823,647 over the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

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

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.