Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Shares Down 1.5% – Here’s Why

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s stock price dropped 1.5% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $91.31 and last traded at $91.40. Approximately 2,627,537 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 17,006,006 shares. The stock had previously closed at $92.79.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on WMT. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Guggenheim raised their price target on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $93.69.

Walmart Trading Down 1.7 %

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $88.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.64. 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 $732.73 billion, a PE ratio of 37.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.54.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $169.59 billion during 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.51 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,065 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.69, for a total value of $166,624.85. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 457,493 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,915,110.17. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.47, for a total value of $277,410.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 375,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,691,507.55. This represents a 0.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 101,163 shares of company stock valued at $8,816,049 over the last quarter. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WMT. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the 2nd quarter valued at $43,000. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH increased its holdings in Walmart by 3.1% in the second quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 67,159 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,547,000 after purchasing an additional 1,999 shares during the last quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 9.2% during the second quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 28,233 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,912,000 after purchasing an additional 2,386 shares in the last quarter. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new position in Walmart in the 2nd quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Wolf Group Capital Advisors acquired a new stake in Walmart in the 2nd quarter valued at $245,000. 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.