Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price Down 1.7%

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) shares dropped 1.7% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $68.59 and last traded at $68.61. Approximately 5,113,081 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 17,251,268 shares. The stock had previously closed at $69.79.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 20th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Walmart from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Walmart from $71.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $71.60.

Walmart Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $68.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $62.19. The firm has a market cap of $548.49 billion, a PE ratio of 29.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.50.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $161.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $159.57 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.88% and a return on equity of 21.57%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.49 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.43 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,398 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total value of $166,661.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 463,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,239,034.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.23, for a total transaction of $1,899,758.52. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,989,526 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $260,236,780.98. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,398 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total transaction of $166,661.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 463,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,239,034.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 14,537,863 shares of company stock worth $954,247,577. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Walmart by 199.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 411,745,334 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $24,774,717,000 after purchasing an additional 274,229,968 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Walmart by 181.0% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 56,861,234 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,421,342,000 after buying an additional 36,625,314 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,674,652,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 183.0% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 29,172,985 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,755,339,000 after purchasing an additional 18,865,484 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in Walmart by 212.6% during the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 14,035,473 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $844,514,000 after purchasing an additional 9,544,958 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is 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.