Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Given New $68.00 Price Target at Evercore ISI

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) had its price target increased by Evercore ISI from $66.00 to $68.00 in a research report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the retailer’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on WMT. Tigress Financial increased their price target 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Walmart from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Stifel Europe increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $56.33 to $58.33 in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of Walmart to $67.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $54.33 to $58.67 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, February 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $61.60.

Walmart Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $60.17 on Tuesday. Walmart has a 12-month low of $47.82 and a 12-month high of $61.65. The stock has a market cap of $484.85 billion, a PE ratio of 31.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The company has a 50-day moving average of $58.14 and a 200 day moving average of $54.91.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $173.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $170.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.57 EPS. Walmart’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Walmart will post 2.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.2075 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.38%. Walmart’s payout ratio is 43.38%.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Jim C. Walton sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.78, for a total value of $117,560.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 656,395,261 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,582,913,441.58. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, major shareholder Jim C. Walton sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.78, for a total value of $117,560.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 656,395,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,582,913,441.58. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director S Robson Walton sold 14,685,327 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.61, for a total transaction of $860,755,966.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 656,397,261 shares in the company, valued at $38,473,631,458.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 28,990,016 shares of company stock worth $1,693,978,567. 46.51% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Seven Mile Advisory grew its position in Walmart by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Seven Mile Advisory now owns 3,953 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $632,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC grew its position in Walmart by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC now owns 1,636 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its position in Walmart by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 6,074 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $955,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Walmart by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,451 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,436,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avaii Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Walmart by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Avaii Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,908 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $305,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.