Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Price Target Cut to $66.00

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) had its price objective decreased by Evercore ISI from $67.00 to $66.00 in a report released on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. Evercore ISI currently has an outperform rating on the retailer’s stock.

WMT has been the topic of a number of other reports. Telsey Advisory Group restated an outperform rating and issued a $68.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Walmart to $66.67 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a hold rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $54.33 to $58.67 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, February 19th. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $61.75.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $59.53 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $59.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.51. Walmart has a 12 month low of $48.34 and a 12 month high of $61.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $479.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 0.49.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.05. Walmart had a net margin of 2.39% and a return on equity of 21.08%. The firm had revenue of $173.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $170.85 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.57 EPS. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Walmart will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.2075 dividend. This represents a $0.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 5,970,066 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.27, for a total value of $347,895,646.04. Following the sale, the insider now owns 671,082,588 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,106,219,344.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Walmart news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 500,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total value of $29,195,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 653,067,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,132,597,369.79. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 5,970,066 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.27, for a total transaction of $347,895,646.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 671,082,588 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,106,219,344.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,032,265 shares of company stock valued at $1,696,559,224 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 46.51% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WMT. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,674,652,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 112,181.6% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 22,854,919 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,240,599,000 after buying an additional 22,834,564 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of Walmart by 184.1% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 12,567,533 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $756,188,000 after buying an additional 8,144,393 shares during the last quarter. BlueSpruce Investments LP acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $568,419,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 15,371.4% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,511,225 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $553,545,000 after buying an additional 3,488,530 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.