Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading Down 0.2% – Should You Sell?

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) shares traded down 0.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $91.63 and last traded at $93.22. Approximately 9,019,381 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 47% from the average session volume of 16,915,350 shares. The stock had previously closed at $93.40.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on WMT shares. Roth Mkm upped their target price on Walmart from $81.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Citigroup increased their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $93.69.

Walmart Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $741.00 billion, a PE ratio of 37.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.54. The business has a 50-day moving average of $87.51 and a 200 day moving average of $78.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.51 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.47, for a total transaction of $277,410.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 375,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,691,507.55. This represents a 0.79 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.64, for a total transaction of $2,348,559.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,873,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $312,322,993.92. This represents a 0.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 143,412 shares of company stock valued at $12,228,259 in the last three months. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WMT. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 23,720 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,915,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 43,549 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,591,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the period. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC now owns 32,633 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,635,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. CAP Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. CAP Partners LLC now owns 6,054 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $489,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Investment Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Investment Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,182 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $499,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the period. 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.