Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Shares Down 2% – Time to Sell?

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) shares were down 2% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $85.52 and last traded at $85.77. Approximately 8,566,314 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 46% from the average daily volume of 15,959,564 shares. The stock had previously closed at $87.49.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup reaffirmed a “positive” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.17.

Walmart Stock Down 3.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company has a market capitalization of $680.34 billion, a PE ratio of 35.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The company’s fifty day moving average is $95.12 and its 200-day moving average is $89.19.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. As a group, analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.11%. Walmart’s payout ratio is 39.00%.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total transaction of $3,754,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 257,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,419,362.80. This represents a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total value of $1,215,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 566,794 shares in the company, valued at $52,485,124.40. This trade represents a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 189,777 shares of company stock valued at $18,001,116 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fire Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $1,711,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $273,000. M1 Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at $701,000. DSG Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth about $6,679,000. Finally, Chancellor Financial Group WB LP purchased a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth about $400,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

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.