Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Shares Down 0.8% – Should You Sell?

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s share price dropped 0.8% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $92.35 and last traded at $92.44. Approximately 2,772,492 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 14,462,777 shares. The stock had previously closed at $93.23.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price objective on Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.69.

Walmart Stock Up 1.1 %

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $92.02 and a 200 day moving average of $82.13. 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 company has a market cap of $761.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.92, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.51 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.44, for a total transaction of $2,663,098.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,814,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $348,825,769.20. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz purchased 5,446 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $91.81 per share, with a total value of $499,997.26. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 7,805 shares in the company, valued at $716,577.05. The trade was a 230.86 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 140,177 shares of company stock valued at $12,895,688 over the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. raised its position in Walmart by 77.3% during the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Hoese & Co LLP bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently 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.