Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading Down 1% – Here’s What Happened

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) dropped 1% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $103.60 and last traded at $104.04. Approximately 14,096,845 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 7% from the average daily volume of 15,084,413 shares. The stock had previously closed at $105.05.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WMT. Citigroup increased their target price on Walmart from $98.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $101.87.

Walmart Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $834.69 billion, a PE ratio of 42.64, a P/E/G ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 0.55. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $95.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $86.05.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.51 EPS. Walmart’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total transaction of $3,754,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 257,281 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,419,362.80. The trade was a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.44, for a total value of $2,663,098.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,814,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $348,825,769.20. This represents a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 175,177 shares of company stock worth $16,403,728 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $5,737,355,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,306,627,000. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 479.6% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 18,479,259 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,492,200,000 after purchasing an additional 15,290,936 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of 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 last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 8,814.4% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 6,963,218 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $562,280,000 after purchasing an additional 6,885,106 shares in the last quarter. 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.