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

Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) were down 0.3% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $82.32 and last traded at $82.54. Approximately 1,427,979 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 92% from the average daily volume of 16,871,592 shares. The stock had previously closed at $82.75.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WMT. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Walmart in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $83.83.

Walmart Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market cap of $660.34 billion, a PE ratio of 42.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.51. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $79.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $70.63.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 21.72%. The business had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $168.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.61 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.19, for a total transaction of $207,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 387,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,787,946.35. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,063 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.76, for a total value of $166,607.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 459,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,113,904.08. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.19, for a total value of $207,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 387,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,787,946.35. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock worth $958,784,857 in the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 108.8% in the 3rd quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 1,574 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $127,000 after purchasing an additional 820 shares during the last quarter. Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Walmart by 0.5% during the third quarter. Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 60,969 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,923,000 after buying an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. Sollinda Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Walmart in the third quarter valued at $215,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 10.5% during the third quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC now owns 12,960 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,047,000 after purchasing an additional 1,228 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 2.2% during the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 37,713 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,140,000 after purchasing an additional 828 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

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.