Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading Down 1% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) dropped 1% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $103.60 and last traded at $104.04. Approximately 14,096,845 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 7% from the average daily volume of 15,084,413 shares. The stock had previously closed at $105.05.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen boosted 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. DZ Bank lowered Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $91.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday. Barclays boosted their price objective on Walmart from $98.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $100.53.

Walmart Trading Down 1.0 %

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 stock has a market capitalization of $835.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.70, a PEG ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.55. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $94.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $85.56.

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

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 5,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.45, for a total transaction of $512,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 87,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total value of $166,658.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,956,404.35. This represents a 0.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 175,177 shares of company stock valued at $16,403,728 over the last three months. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 1,007.7% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 262 shares during the period. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. raised its stake in Walmart by 77.3% in the third quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is 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.