Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading Down 1.5%

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) shares traded down 1.5% during trading on Tuesday . The stock 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 Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WMT. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of Walmart to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Walmart to $66.67 and set an “overweight” rating for the company 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 for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $62.00 to $63.33 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five 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 a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.75.

Walmart Price Performance

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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $482.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.49.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued 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 return on equity of 21.08% and a net margin of 2.39%. 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 company earned $0.57 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.72, for a total transaction of $167,160.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 530,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,565,756.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.45, for a total transaction of $1,760,545.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,047,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $244,687,515.15. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.72, for a total value of $167,160.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 530,613 shares in the company, valued at $29,565,756.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 28,990,016 shares of company stock valued at $1,694,287,237. Company insiders own 46.51% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Northwest Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 199.3% in the 1st quarter. Northwest Capital Management Inc now owns 440 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares during the period. Partnership Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Able Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.