Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading Down 0.7% – Here’s What Happened

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) shares fell 0.7% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $90.45 and last traded at $90.78. 2,641,990 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 10,554,076 shares. The stock had previously closed at $91.43.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WMT. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. StockNews.com downgraded Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. KeyCorp upped their price target on Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $83.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $93.95.

Walmart Trading Up 0.9 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a market capitalization of $736.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.61, a PEG ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.55. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $89.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $80.21.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly 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 net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.51 EPS. Walmart’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.79, for a total value of $2,411,175.96. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,843,929 shares in the company, valued at $318,238,881.91. This trade represents a 0.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,065 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.69, for a total transaction of $166,624.85. Following 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 140,412 shares of company stock valued at $12,478,116 in the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WMT. Brophy Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Walmart in the third quarter worth $2,072,000. Bank of New Hampshire raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 47,949 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,332,000 after buying an additional 5,786 shares in the last quarter. Iowa State Bank lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 213.8% during the 4th quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 26,807 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,422,000 after buying an additional 18,263 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 2,107,197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Walmart in the third quarter valued at $541,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Company Profile

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.