Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading Down 1.5%

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) shares fell 1.5% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $59.06 and last traded at $59.23. 3,617,342 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 18,773,672 shares. The stock had previously closed at $60.14.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WMT. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Walmart to $66.67 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Walmart from $67.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $68.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Stifel Europe lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $56.33 to $58.33 in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.75.

Walmart Stock Down 1.8 %

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $59.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $55.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $475.83 billion, a PE ratio of 30.96, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.83.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $170.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.57 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.2075 per share. This represents a $0.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.26, for a total transaction of $180,780.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 524,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,613,179.38. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.54, for a total value of $1,559,298.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 4,274,475 shares in the company, valued at approximately $228,855,391.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.26, for a total transaction of $180,780.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 524,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,613,179.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 29,032,265 shares of company stock worth $1,696,559,224 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 46.51% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth $3,674,652,000. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in Walmart by 212.6% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 14,035,473 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $844,514,000 after buying an additional 9,544,958 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its position in Walmart by 184.1% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 12,567,533 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $756,188,000 after buying an additional 8,144,393 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 199.3% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 7,639,240 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $459,653,000 after purchasing an additional 5,087,119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BlueSpruce Investments LP purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $568,419,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

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.