Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Price Target Cut to $107.00 by Analysts at Royal Bank of Canada

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) had its price target decreased by equities researchers at Royal Bank of Canada from $109.00 to $107.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "outperform" rating on the retailer's stock. Royal Bank of Canada's target price would suggest a potential upside of 12.99% from the company's previous close.

WMT has been the subject of several other reports. DZ Bank cut Walmart from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $91.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, November 21st. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned 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 $102.43.

Walmart Stock Performance

WMT traded down $2.51 during trading on Friday, hitting $94.70. The stock had a trading volume of 34,962,340 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,282,283. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $95.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $86.44. The firm has a market cap of $760.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.30, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart has a one year low of $57.77 and a one year high of $105.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 predict that Walmart will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz purchased 5,446 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $91.81 per share, with a total value of $499,997.26. Following the purchase, the director now owns 7,805 shares in the company, valued at $716,577.05. This represents a 230.86 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.44, for a total value of $2,663,098.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,814,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $348,825,769.20. This trade represents a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 176,777 shares of company stock worth $16,570,112 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brophy Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,072,000. Bank of New Hampshire increased its position in shares of Walmart by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 47,949 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,332,000 after acquiring an additional 5,786 shares during the last quarter. Iowa State Bank increased its position in shares of Walmart by 213.8% during the fourth quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 26,807 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,422,000 after acquiring an additional 18,263 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 4.6% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,848,533,000 after acquiring an additional 2,107,197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the third quarter valued at approximately $541,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.