Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Price Target Lowered to $102.00 at Royal Bank of Canada

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) had its target price reduced by Royal Bank of Canada from $107.00 to $102.00 in a research report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the retailer's stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on WMT. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $103.58.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT stock traded up $1.20 during trading on Thursday, hitting $94.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 12,859,840 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,640,915. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The company has a market cap of $753.58 billion, a PE ratio of 39.00, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. The business has a fifty day moving average of $92.43 and a 200-day moving average of $89.95. Walmart has a 52 week low of $58.56 and a 52 week high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Walmart will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart's dividend payout ratio is 39.00%.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total transaction of $166,384.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at $44,049,852.03. This represents a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total transaction of $343,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 888,309 shares in the company, valued at $76,350,158.55. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 178,852 shares of company stock worth $16,785,080 in the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Walmart by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 422,736,888 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $38,194,278,000 after acquiring an additional 2,050,683 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 90,635,238 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,167,186,000 after purchasing an additional 3,017,829 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,737,355,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 48,793,045 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,408,452,000 after buying an additional 1,133,201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Walmart by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,943,049,000 after buying an additional 3,550,037 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.