StockNews.com Downgrades Walmart (NYSE:WMT) to Hold

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Thursday.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on WMT. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Mizuho assumed coverage on Walmart in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $105.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of Walmart from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 target price (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.58.

Walmart Stock Down 2.9 %

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $91.20 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $91.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $90.09. The stock has a market cap of $731.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.84, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. Walmart has a 52-week low of $58.56 and a 52-week high of $105.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. The business 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%. Analysts expect that Walmart will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.96, for a total value of $1,220,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 568,626 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,859,472.96. This trade represents a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 423,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. This trade represents a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 177,022 shares of company stock worth $16,618,422 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WMT. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by 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.