Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Price Target Cut to $175.00

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) had its target price cut by equities researchers at BMO Capital Markets from $180.00 to $175.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the retailer’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ target price would indicate a potential upside of 11.35% from the company’s current price.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Walmart from $175.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 18th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $175.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 8th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $162.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 18th. HSBC initiated coverage on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, September 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $200.00 price target for the company. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Walmart from $173.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.94.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT stock traded up $1.12 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $157.16. The company had a trading volume of 4,955,429 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,945,460. The stock has a market cap of $423.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.15, a PEG ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.26. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $162.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $157.75. Walmart has a 52-week low of $136.09 and a 52-week high of $169.94.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 16th. The retailer reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53. Walmart had a net margin of 2.23% and a return on equity of 21.47%. The company had revenue of $160.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $159.65 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.50 EPS. Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Walmart will post 6.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 9,708 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.40, for a total value of $1,576,579.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,461,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $237,349,061.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 9,708 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.40, for a total value of $1,576,579.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,461,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $237,349,061.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.50, for a total value of $159,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 168,735 shares in the company, valued at $26,913,232.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 31,166 shares of company stock worth $5,066,701 over the last three months. 46.51% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Kozak & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in Walmart by 1,490.0% in the third quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 159 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Sageworth Trust Co increased its stake in Walmart by 2,414.3% during the first quarter. Sageworth Trust Co now owns 176 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 58.3% during the 1st quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 190 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PFG Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 33.18% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Company Profile

Walmart Inc engages in the operation of retail, wholesale, and other units 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, walmart.com.mx, walmart.ca, flipkart.com, and samsclub.com; and mobile commerce applications.