Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Shares Down 0.3% – Time to Sell?

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) shares traded down 0.3% on Friday . The company traded as low as $97.85 and last traded at $98.37. 2,857,313 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 14,385,902 shares. The stock had previously closed at $98.65.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on WMT shares. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $83.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Walmart from $89.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.69.

Walmart Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $92.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.90. The stock has a market cap of $787.53 billion, a PE ratio of 40.28, a PEG ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.51 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.62, for a total transaction of $2,697,464.88. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,766,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $348,852,396.42. The trade was a 0.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz purchased 5,446 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $91.81 per share, with a total value of $499,997.26. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 7,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,577.05. The trade was a 230.86 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 137,177 shares of company stock worth $12,649,328 over the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of WMT. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 290,726 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,311,000 after acquiring an additional 9,794 shares in the last quarter. GAM Holding AG purchased a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,040,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 12.9% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 251,436 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $22,717,000 after purchasing an additional 28,801 shares during the last quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 33,237 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,003,000 after purchasing an additional 1,516 shares in the last quarter. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 370,555 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $33,480,000 after buying an additional 13,488 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.