Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Shares Down 0.7% – Should You Sell?

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) shares were down 0.7% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $90.12 and last traded at $90.67. Approximately 3,101,051 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 13,532,687 shares. The stock had previously closed at $91.34.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Guggenheim upped their price target on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Melius Research started coverage on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.49.

Walmart Stock Up 0.8 %

The stock has a market cap of $739.19 billion, a PE ratio of 37.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.55. The business has a fifty day moving average of $91.01 and a 200-day moving average of $81.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The business had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. Walmart’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.51 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Walmart news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 5,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.45, for a total transaction of $512,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 87,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,993,095.80. This represents a 6.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz acquired 5,446 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $91.81 per share, with a total value of $499,997.26. Following the purchase, the director now owns 7,805 shares in the company, valued at $716,577.05. This represents a 230.86 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 140,177 shares of company stock worth $12,478,149. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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