Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading Down 0.9% – Time to Sell?

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) fell 0.9% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $80.62 and last traded at $80.88. 2,582,304 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 17,154,010 shares. The stock had previously closed at $81.65.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Roth Mkm raised their target price on Walmart from $71.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Walmart from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on Walmart from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $82.96.

Walmart Stock Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $77.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.23. The company has a market cap of $654.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.05, a PEG ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.80.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.72% and a net margin of 2.34%. The company had revenue of $169.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $168.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.61 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total transaction of $209,607,941.31. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 630,501,148 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,781,873,820.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total transaction of $209,607,941.31. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 630,501,148 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,781,873,820.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.61, for a total value of $2,056,445.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,931,301 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $277,589,163.61. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,335,272 shares of company stock valued at $958,101,276 in the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Northwest Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 199.3% during the first quarter. Northwest Capital Management Inc now owns 440 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 293 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 138.3% in the second quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 429 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Cultivar Capital Inc. bought a new position in Walmart during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 253.0% in the first quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC now owns 526 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 377 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is 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.