Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading Down 2.1% After Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) traded down 2.1% during trading on Wednesday after Evercore ISI lowered their price target on the stock from $107.00 to $100.00. Evercore ISI currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Walmart traded as low as $86.31 and last traded at $85.61. 6,293,141 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 60% from the average session volume of 15,759,048 shares. The stock had previously closed at $87.44.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on WMT. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Roth Mkm reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $108.00 price objective (up from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 21st. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Walmart from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $103.20.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total value of $1,215,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 566,794 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $52,485,124.40. This trade represents a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total transaction of $166,384.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 423,597 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. The trade was a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 185,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,657,316 in the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 1,007.7% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Walmart Trading Up 0.9 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $95.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $88.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $685.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.39, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53.

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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart's payout ratio is 39.00%.

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.