Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading Down 0.2% – Time to Sell?

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s stock price fell 0.2% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $89.76 and last traded at $90.15. 2,803,150 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 16,991,166 shares. The stock had previously closed at $90.35.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Roth Mkm increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Walmart from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Barclays upped their target price on Walmart from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on Walmart from $89.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $93.69.

Walmart Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $720.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.54. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $89.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $79.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. Walmart’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.51 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,065 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.69, for a total transaction of $166,624.85. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 457,493 shares in the company, valued at $36,915,110.17. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total transaction of $2,689,601.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,785,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $349,609,579.70. This trade represents a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 140,412 shares of company stock worth $12,478,116 over the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,048,465,000 after buying an additional 2,786,061 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 12.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,098,203,000 after purchasing an additional 7,200,004 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 4.6% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,848,533,000 after purchasing an additional 2,107,197 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 41,501,782 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,392,658,000 after purchasing an additional 1,480,927 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 36,282,740 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,456,704,000 after purchasing an additional 644,353 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.